The One With The TiMER
by Thexa
Summary: Chandler has a device called TiMER implanted to his left wrist, and this thing can tell him when he'll meet his soulmate... only if SHE has a TiMER too. What will happen when Monica gets one? Start in season 2, carry on in season 4.
1. Chapter 1 : Discovering TiMER

**Don't get discouraged by this long disclaimer!**

 **I read some stories about this thing (which – let's be clear – doesn't exist) called « TiMER ». Apparently it's from a movie : a TiMER is a display that CAN be (it's everyone's choice) implanted to the wrist and it counts down to the day that the person who has it will meet his or her soulmate IF the soulmate also has a TiMER, otherwise theirs would be blank.**

 **The TiMER reaches zero at midnight before the day you'll met your soulmate, and the next day when you'll meet both TiMERs will beep at the same time.**

 **I hope I made that clear... Anyway, I just wanted to use this to start a new Mondler story :)**

 **The first chapter is set during season 2, when Chandler is scared he'll end up alone in The One Where Heckles Dies and the next ones will be during season 4 (yeah yeah I know, again S4... but I needed Kathy!).**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 : Discovering TiMER**

It's been four days since Mr. Heckles died and Chandler was still depressed and anxious. Sure, Monica and Rachel tried to reassure him, and it felt good at the time, but he dated Allison from his work last night and despite her being nice and funny, it didn't end well since he told her there would not be a second date. He couldn't help but being obsessed with her big head all the dinner : was he that shallow? Man, he WOULD die alone! If only he could know what the future had in store for him... He would have an answer, good or bad, but he would know.

 _How can I know my future? Phoebe surely knows a psychic... Great, now I'm as crazy as her! Maybe I should stop at the pet shop on my way to the apartment, choosing a first snake..._

Entering apartment 20, he was relieved to see that only Phoebe and Monica were there, cooking... well, Monica was cooking, Phoebe was sitting at the table, talking about how the spirit of Mr. Heckles visited her last night. He made eye contact with Monica and raised his eyebrows, hearing Phoebe's words. Monica smiled at him and asked : _"Did Mr. Heckles stepped by your place too, Chandler?"_

" _Oh! Yeah, yeah... but when he saw how I looked like naked, he vanished... I guess that's when he went to your place, Pheebs..."_

Monica laughed lightly but Phoebe rolled her eyes and smiled, looking smug : _"If only you knew..."_

Chandler choose to ignore that remark and sat down in front of her, turning his back to Monica : _"Anyway... Phoebe, I'm glad you're here, I wanted to ask you something... ah... special..."_

He paused, looking down at the table, searching for his words, and Phoebe said, wincing : _"Chandler... I'm flattered but you're not my kind of guy."_

Chandler's eyes went back to look at Phoebe, and he had his mouth half open, startled. After a few seconds, he closed his mouth, pinching his lips together, and smiled : _"No... not that, Phoebe..."_

" _Oh! Good then, I'm listening!"_

Chandler was embarrassed, he exhaled and ran his left hand through his hair, wincing, before finding the courage to go on : _"It's... hem... for a coworker. See, he doesn't know what to do with his job anymore, and... ha... he wants to know what might happen if he quits : will he be able to find a new job quickly? Soooooooo... The thing is... he asked me if I knew a psychic – and I don't! – but I thought you might..."_

" _Oh yeah!"_ Phoebe interrupted him enthusiastically, her face lightening up. _"He definitely should go to see Joanna, she's one of the best!"_

" _Yeah?"_ Chandler asked, doubtful.

" _Absolutely ! She DID tell me last time that somebody I knew was gonna die – even though she told me he would be attacked by an alien send by planet XY05... but anyway, Mr. Heckles died so, see, she was right! And who knows what really killed him..."_ she concluded mysteriously before getting up, searching for a paper and a pen to write the phone number of her psychic. Chandler turned his head and looked at Monica worriedly. She put her right hand on his shoulder with a smile : _"Don't be surprised if your coworker ends up telling you he'll become a six-armed surgeon for butterflies or something like that."_

Chandler laughed and took Phoebe's piece of paper.

Two days later, Chandler was in front of the door of this psychic. He hesitated before entering, pacing nervously on the sidewalk. He looked around him, checking if there wasn't someone he knew in sight. Finally, he opened the door. A woman was sitting behind a desk, reading, and she got up seeing him : _"Hello, may I help you?"_

" _Yes... I... I have an appointment. Chandler Bing."_

" _Nice to meet you, I'm Joanna. Follow me."_

After shaking her hand, Chandler followed her in a small, cosy room, with only four chairs, a couch and a table.

He sat down on a chair and Joanna took place in front of him, before asking him why he was there. He didn't bother telling her his insecurities, he went straight to the point and explained he was anxious to know if he would find love, someday.

Joanna closed her eyes and started breathing really slowly and deeply. Chandler was confused : he was expecting cards, crystal ball, tea leaves... but not nothing! He didn't know if he should talk or not, and opted for the silence. Joanna's hands rested on the table and her eyes were closed, but they sometimes fluttered, and her eyebrows were moving. Plus, Joanna's face was wincing in what seemed an incontrolled way. Chandler was very tensed and uncomfortable in this silence, alone with Joanna : what the hell was this woman doing?

Finally, after a few minutes, Joanna smiled and opened her eyes. She simply said : _"I saw a woman."_

Chandler's heart skipped a beat : _"Wh- Wh- Really? How was she? When will I meet her?"_

Joanna shook her head : _"I'm afraid I can't give you these informations, you'll have to wait and see it yourself when it'll happen. You may not know, but I spent a lot of energy for you today. I couldn't see more than you happy, married with a woman. I couldn't see her face."_

Chandler gulped and hold his head with his right hand, his elbow resting on the table : _"Wow... married? Really? Wow..."_

Joanna got up and told Chandler she know needed a rest, he paid her and she laid down on the couch, letting him exiting the building by himself. Once in the street, he stayed a few minutes motionless, recovering from what he was just told. Married? Slowly, he started to walk. He stopped by to buy a newspaper and entered a calm Central Perk to read it. None of his friends were here and he was quite relieved : he still needed some time to process what this psychic had told him.

Something on page 11 drew his attention. _"When will you find love ?"_ was the title, and yet the article was classified on the new technologies category. TiMER. A strange new device that can tell you when you'll meet your soulmate... but only if your soulmate also has the device on his/her left wrist. At the end of the article, there was an address in New York. Chandler wrote it down and put the piece of paper in his pocket. He was interested but needed some time to think about that : his friend would have questions, if they saw this thing on his wrist. Could he hid it ?

 ******* THREE MONTHS LATER *******

After his desastrous date with Susie, Chandler was back in his appartment. The first thing he did was to put on some clothes, and then he opened the drawer where he was stowing his underwears. Hidden there was the piece of paper with the address of the centre where you could get one of those TiMER things. His mind was now set : in order to avoid other desillusions and humiliations like tonight, he had to know when the day would come.

Five days later, he was in a waiting room on the seventh floor of a big and modern building. Chandler had difficulties to stay calm on his chair, his hands were moist and he couldn't stop wiping them on his jeans. His legs were incontrollably shaking and he could hear his heart beating hard. Finally, a man in a white blouse ( _"Was he a real doctor?"_ Chandler asked himself) said his name. Chandler jumped on his feet and followed him in a room that looked like a doctor's practice.

The man in front of him didn't ask any questions, he went straight to the point : _"So, I need a written autorization to install the display on your wrist. Don't worry, it's not painful at all, and if you don't want it anymore, you can come back here and get it removed. Please, complete and sign the autorization here."_

Once the document was filled, Chandler was invited to climb on the examining table. The installation was very quick, a minute or so, and Chander was very anxious when the screen started to blink. So, this was it. He was about to know.

But to his disappointment the screen went back to blank again. Chandler was confused : _"It didn't work?"_ The man smiled : _"It worked, you saw it blinking. But remember : your soulmate has to wear the same device. If the screen is blank, that means he or she doesn't have one yet."_

 _He? Man, that was the lesbian wedding all over again..._ Chandler sighed and asked for a clarification : _"So... when_ _ **she**_ _'ll get one, I'll have the count down, right?"_

" _Exactly",_ the man nodded. _"Remember : we're only at the beginning of our project, more and more people will wear it in the months and years to come."_

Suddenly, Chandler thought about Janice. What if she was the one? He already met her! _"And... let's say I've already met my soulmate. When she'll get one, how would I know?"_

The TiMER guy answered : _"You'll both have a 0 on your count down."_

After making sure he could hide his display under a watch on his left wrist, Chandler left the building.

The first few days, Chandler would look at his display numerous times in the day, but the screen remained blank. As the weeks passed, Chandler looked less and less at his display, he only did when he was meeting a new girl he was attracted to. But maybe she was his soulmate but didn't have the device? All these questions were wearing him out and he decided it would be better if he looked less at his display.

* * *

 **Okay I know this chapter kinda sucks because there is a lot of Chandler by himself, and he's a bit depressed so that's not funny, but I promise there will be more and more interaction (and of course with Monica) in the next chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2 : Zero

**Thanks for the few – but kind – reviews :) I'm already updating the story because the first chapters are going to be the less interesting (yeah, I know how to sell my story :p ah ah), but they are necessary. I promise it will get better soon :)**

 **Okay so now we're in Season 4, just before Chandler meets Kathy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 : Zero...**

Chandler was wearing the TiMER for almost two years now, and it was still blank. He paid very little attention to his device these last few months, he just had to make sure it was hidden under a watch. Nobody knew he had this thing on his left wrist and he wanted to keep it secret. Here and there, on TV, in a magazine, he had seen reports or articles about TiMER, but he had no idea how many people had the display on them. Apparently, it was attracting mostly women, and it seemed to Chandler that it was increasing his chances... although he only needed ONE woman to turn on his screen again. The one.

He had seen reports about people who had found love thanks to this device, and it seemed to work well, even thought it was quite new.

This day, Chandler was at work. It was about 3 PM and he was entering numbers in his computer. It was a long and boring work, but he had to do this, and he was quite well payed, so he couldn't really complain. Once in a while, he checked the clock, praying for 5 PM to come quickly, so he could see his friends. Suddenly he heard a light "bip". It wasn't loud and at first he thought he had dreamt it. He searched on his computer, on his desk, but saw nothing that could have made that sound. Looking at his watch to check if it could be that, he remembered what was beneath it. The TiMER.

His heartbeat increased as he was taking his watch off. He briefly closed his eyes and inhaled before looking down at his wrist. There. It was turned on. His soulmate juste had a TiMER implanted. Picturing this moment, Chandler had imagined various scenarios, but he had forgotten one, and this was this one that was happening to him. The screen had only one number on it : 0.

 _So what? I'm gonna meet my soulmate TODAY? TO-DAY?! Oh my God I'm not ready! And she knows it too?_

Chandler was panicking and couldn't concentrate on his job anymore. In a few hours, he would meet her. On the street? At Central Perk? Maybe she'll come in his office?

* * *

At the seventh floor of a modern building in New York, Monica was anxiously waiting, sitting on a chair. There were also four other women in the waiting room, and only one man. She still wasn't sure if she wanted the TiMER on her wrist. She had seen numerous articles on the subject, and although she was interested, she couldn't had the courage to do it for real, but a recent remark from her mom was too much : she had to know when she'll meet THE guy. Her mother was making her doubting of herself and she wanted to be reassured that she won't end up alone.

A girl exited the doctor's room (were they doctors in there, though?), smiling. She said, showing her wrist : _"I'm going to meet him in 257 days, I'm so relieved ! Look at the countdown !"_ Monica smiled weakly and mumured : _"Congratulations"_ , too preoccupied by her own fate to be happy for this girl. She was thinking of her friends : how would they react if they saw the display on her wrist? They weren't that thrilled when she wanted to have a baby thanks to the sperm bank...

 _That's totally different, though... But they'll ask too many questions... I should hid it... They don't have to know that part of my life. That will be my secret._

Finally, her turn came. A woman explained everything she needed to know about the device, and Monica signed an authorization. She then let the woman taking her left wrist and Monica was surprised to not feel a thing.

" _There, it's installed. Now it's going to turn on..."_ the woman said with a smile.

Monica was hypnotized by this little display : she saw it blinking. She was about to know.

 _How many days? Please, let it be less than 1 000..._

Monica then saw a bunch of numbers, but they were passing really fast and she realized it was like an accelerated countdown. When would it stop?

She saw 1 000. She saw 884. She saw 617. She saw 555. Her mouth was dry : she was so close to meet him! The countdown wasn't stopping. Until it reached 0. The zero stayed there and the TiMER made a light "bip", almost inaudible.

" _What was that? What does it mean?"_ Monica asked, almost yelling.

The woman smiled : _"Ha! That means you already know him. You've already met your soulmate. And he has a TiMER. His probably displays 0 right now too."_

Monica was confused : she already knows her soulmate? She immediately thought of Richard. But this wasn't right : she couldn't picture Richard getting a TiMER. He wasn't searching for a soulmate, he already had a (first) life, with kids, he's not the type of guy to have this kind of device on his body.

Pete? Nah. He was too busy with his Ultimate Fighting thing. Wasn't he?

She eliminated all the other guys she went out with. Ethan, no. Paul, never. Julio, Fun Bobby, Chip Matthews, Alan... no, no, no...

What other guys she knew? Gunther ? Nooooooooooooooo... He couldn't be her soulmate! Could he? At this point, she didn't know what to think anymore...

Trigger? Come on!

Paolo? Not the kind of guy to search for his soulmate!

Someone at work? At the bank? At the supermarket?

My God, thinking of it, she knew a lot of guys!

But at no time she thought of Chandler or Joey...

* * *

At first, Monica wanted to be alone with her thoughts, so she took a walk in Central Park. But she quickly had an headache, almost going crazy, thinking about every guy she knew and debating whether or not he would get a TiMER and whether or not he could be her soulmate. After every guy came one name all over again. Richard. He was the only one she could picture being her soulmate. Of course, there were many guys in her life she didn't know that well and who also could be the one. She thought about that cute waiter at her restaurant, or that kind seller at the supermarket. How was she supposed to figure out who had a device, and one that was indicating 0 too?!

She arrived in front of Central Perk and saw Chandler sitting on the orange couch. She was happy and thought : _"Finally, I'm gonna be able to talk to another human being... And Chandler will definitely make me smile, that's what I need to forget this madness."_

" _Hey you! What's up?"_

Chandler was lost in his thoughts and almost jolted, hearing Monica. _Oh not much Mon, I'm going to meet my soulmate today, I have no idea who she is and I'm scared._ _Oh, you're wondering how I know that? Funny story... See, I have a TiMER..._

No, he couldn't answer that.

" _Well, I spent the entire day staring at a screen full of numbers and now everytime I close my eyes I see numbers dancing. They're having fun, and I'm not. So I'm trying to not close my eyes. Never ever."_

Monica smiled : she was right, he was going to prevent her from thinking too much, exactly what she needed. Monica sat down next to him and he jumped on the arm of the couch to see her better and making the talk more comfortable. Doing so, his eyes landed on a beautiful woman. His heart skipped a beat and he couldn't help but thinking : _"This is it. She's the one. She probably just had the TiMER on her wrist and is here to see of her soulmate would be in a coffee place. He is. I'm her soulmate."_

" _Chandler? Are you okay sweetie?"_

Monica's soft voice sent him back to reality. He had to do something, he had to see this woman.

" _Hum... Yeah, Mon. I'm just... Wow... She's pretty."_

Monica turned her head : _"Who?"_

" _This woman over there. Short hair. I have to talk to her."_

" _You HAVE to ?"_

" _Yeah, it's... I mean... Or else I'd regret it you know."_

Monica couldn't reply : Chandler was already up. She couldn't help but thinking he was acting weird. Usually, he would hesitate during a long time before having the strenght to go and talk to a woman. Or he just wouldn't go. But this time ? He was... determinated. That was strange. Curious, Monica looked as Chandler was beginning to talk to the mysterious woman.

Chandler was very nervous but he had to do it : _"Hi. Hi, I-I was just sitting over there, and uhh, Chandler. My name is Chandler. Did I say that?"_

The woman laughed : _"No! I'm Kathy by the way! But... I'm stopping you right now. I've already met someone and I'm waiting for him... hey, here he is!"_

Chandler turned his head and saw Joey coming. He felt so stupid, hitting at his friend's girlfriend! But at the same time, he was frustrated : what if Kathy thought Joey was the one because she met him before? He had to check if Kathy actually had a TiMER. He was like obsessed by this thought : this girl, Kathy, is the one, just because he met her on the same day his TiMER turned on and indicated zero.

Joey and Kathy left on their date and Chandler came back to the orange couch, sitting next to Monica, letting go a loud sigh. Monica was dumbstruck : since when Chandler took initiatives like that? And why was he so bummed now? He just met the woman! He almost didn't talk to her! She kept looking at him, waiting for an explanation, but Chandler didn't even notice. His mind was going crazy : TiMER, zero, Kathy, the one, my soulmate, today, Kathy, TiMER. Why Joey was in the picture? Why? Dammit! She was HIS soulmate! He just wanted to have fun! Not fair! A voice next to him startled him :

" _Well? What was that?"_

" _Huh?"_

" _Everything! You, hitting on that girl so quickly. You, being so miserable because she's with Joey. You, looking like you had your heart crushed whereas you exchanged only... what? 15 words with her?"_

" _So?"_

" _It's not you! I'm sorry to say that, but I've seen you being rejected before. You never acted like that!"_

Chandler didn't answer. What could he say? Monica wouldn't understand. Kathy was her soulmate, his TiMER said so, and surely hers too, only she didn't know he was the one, and not Joey. She will find out, eventually, when she'll see that Joey doesn't have a TiMER. He just had to wait. They'll probably have sex tonight and she'll see his wrist. At this thought, he felt like he was going to throw up. Her soulmate having sex with his best friend. He felt a hand on his tigh:

" _Hey? Chandler? What's wrong? Tell me."_

" _I can't, Mon. I'm sorry."_

Chandler got up and exited without an explanation. Monica sighed, she was alone again, with her mind wandering inevitably on her TiMER. It had to be Richard. It was the only logical choice.

* * *

 **I know, Ross and Rachel were supposed to be in the scene at Central Perk, but it was easier without them : sorry !**


	3. Chapter 3 : Searching For His Soulmate

**This chapter is focused on Chandler, but don't worry Monica will be back in the next one :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 3 : Searching For His Soulmate**

The next night, Chandler got up to watch Ernie Covacs on TV. He was surprised to see Kathy in front of the TV, and he had to admit he was also uncomfortable, being alone with her. Maybe it was the time to ask her about her TiMER, and the fact that Joey doesn't have one.

" _Hey! What are you doing up so late?"_

" _Oh hey you! I'm sorry I wanted to see this Ernie Covacs thing."_

" _Me too!"_

There was no doubt now in Chandler's mind. She was the one. All he had to do was ask her the question that had bothered him all the evening.

" _So... ha..."_ he smiled. _"You and Joey?"_

Kathy nodded : _"Yeah. We're in acting class together. Yesterday he picked three scenes in which we had to make out, so..."_

Yesterday? But... If she had the TiMER installed on her today, then... Chandler wasn't sure what it meant, he didn't know the exact way of working of the device. He couldn't help but glance at her wrists. She didn't wear any watch or jewelry, and Chandler could swear he didn't see a TiMER. But he couldn't see clearly, her wrists weren't very visible.

" _Soooooo... You, ha... you've seen Joey's... left arm?"_

" _Uh? Yeah..."_

" _Oh... And it was..."_

Chandler stopped in the middle of his sentence, hearing how stupid he sounded. What kind of questions were they? He barely knows this girl and he talks about her boyfriend's arm? Seriously, Chandler? He tried another approach :

" _Can you... I know I'm going to sound weird but... Actually I'm doing a study on the size of the arms, wrists and everything and... Can you show me your wrists?"_

Kathy gave him a weird look but did what he asked her.

Seeing no trace of TiMER on her left wrist, Chandler understood he was wrong all the evening. Yes, he met Kathy today. But no, she's not the one. He felt a wave of disappointment passing through his body. His soulmate is probably someone he _already knew_ before today. He had forgotten that option : zero didn't always mean you're going to meet your soulmate today, it also meant you've _already_ met her... His mind instantly stopped on Janice. No. No no no no no...

" _Are you okay?"_ Kathy was a bit concerned. This guy was so strange!

Chandler tried to fake a smile : _"Yeah, I'm sorry. I won't bother you anymore, I promise. Good night."_

Janice. His only obvious option was Janice. Chandler was lying in bed, how could he sleep after that revelation? Janice was his soulmate. He wasn't thrilled by this idea but, hey, in a way that made sense.

 _I should contact her tomorrow. I have to know my fate. I can't stand this TiMER thing and this zero warning me I know my soulmate. I can't stand not being with her. But do I want her to be Janice?_

Chandler was full of doubts and that night he had numerous nightmares, involving TiMER, Janice, and a bunch of women he couldn't see the face, but all were running away from him.

* * *

Chandler didn't want to lose more time, so the next day he phoned Janice and asked to meet her on a bench in Central Park, he thought being outdoor would be a more romantic idea. He was pacing nervously in front of the bench when he saw her, and he was a bit disappointed to not feel a thing. No joy, no love, not even relief.

 _I should be happy, I have my soulmate on front of me, the woman I will spend the rest of my life with. Then why it doesn't feel right?_

After the usual exchange of pleasantries, Janice asked him : _"Sooooo... Chandler Bing-a-ling! Why were you so in a hurry to see me? Are you pregnant? Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"_

Hearing her laugh, Chandler winced and thought he probably had to get used toit, now... Janice was wearing a jacket and Chandler couldn't see her wrists.

" _See, Janice... It's... Ha... Do you know TiMER?"_

" _TiMER? What's that? A new thing for you to hit on me? You don't need that you know, my dear..."_ Janice winked at him.

Chandler wasn't sure if she knew what was TiMER but didn't want to reveal to him she had one, of if she was genuinely clueless. He chose the first option : _"Mine is stuck at 0 since yesterday and I guess yours too..."_

" _Chandler, what are you talking about? What's stuck at zero? What should I have at 0 too?"_

Shoot, she seemed really lost. What if... Chandler gently took Janice's left hand and the sleeve of her jacket rolled up a little, revealing her wrist. There was no TiMER.

" _Chandler? Honey? Are you okay?"_

Chandler let Janice's hand go and crashed on the bench, holding his head in his hands. Janice cautiously sat down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. She was concerned, she had never seen Chandler so shaken.

" _Chandler? You can tell me."_

Her voice was – for once – soft and Chandler felt the sudden urge to confess. He had kept this secret for two years. TWO WHOLE YEARS. It was enough. He had to tell someone, and then he'll get this TiMER removed. It had lasted long enough. Maybe his didn't work. Or maybe his soulmate was a random girl he met once at work or at the supermarket. He'll never know and he didn't want to know, not anymore. Janice didn't have any connection to his friends, but he knew her enough to confess. That was the perfect combination. He took off his watch and show his left wrist to Janice, not saying any word.

" _What's this? Oh, it has a zero on it!"_

" _It's... It's a TiMER. It kinda tells you when you'll meet your soulmate. Mine is at zero since yesterday, which means I already know my soulmate and she has hers installed yesterday. I assumed it was you but I was wrong."_

Janice was speechless for a while. Chandler had thought she was his soulmate? That moved her deeply. Chandler was so nervous to never find love that he had this TiMER thing installed on him? That broke her heart. He deserved to be loved. She put a hand on her heart.

" _Chandler... I had no idea. Thank you for telling me this. I'm sorry I'm not the one you're looking for. Think about it : she's probably looking for you too. Don't give up."_

Chandler smiled weakly, relieved to have shared his heavy secret.

He thanked is ex-girlfriend and they said goobdye.

Instead of going to work or home, Chandler headed straight to the building of the TiMER people. He was determined to uninstall his TiMER as quickly as possible.


	4. Chapter 4 : The Disappointment

**Thank you for the few reviews, it encourages me continuing this :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 4 : The Disappointment**

Monica was reading on her couch when she heard a beep. Having heard it just the day before, she perfectly knew what was making that sound, but she didn't understand why it was beeping again. She took off her watch to look at her TiMER. It was blank. There was no more zero. It had nothing on it.

She felt various feelings at once : anger, sadness, incomprehension. She had a bottle next to her and without thinking she took it and threw it against the wall, so angry with this TiMER. What had just happened? Did this thing needed to be charged? Was it already broken down? Maybe yesterday there was a mistake and her soulmate doesn't have a TiMER after all? Maybe it's Richard?

She realized she was alone in her appartment and decided to phone to the TiMER people. They would know. After three ringings, a man answered.

" _Hi, I'm Monica Geller. I came yesterday and... anyway... My TiMER was indicating 0 and just a few minutes ago it went blank. How come?"_

The man asked her to describe what exactly happened and she talked about the beep. He cut her off : _"It beeped, so it's working. It means your soulmate got rid of his TiMER. He's not wearing it anymore. It happens."_

" _WHAT? So he just... vanished?"_

" _No, miss. He's out there, but he doesn't have a TiMER anymore. You still can find him."_

 _Yeah, right... I have already difficulties finding him WITH a TiMER..._

Monica felt a wave of depression inside her : what was the point of having a TiMER if her soulmate now got rid of it? It made no sense.

" _Can I have it removed too?"_

" _Sure, but I should warn you, this has a cost..."_

" _Fine, whatever... Can I come tomorrow?"_

" _No problem, come around 10 AM."_

After hanging up and putting her watch back on her left wrist, Monica realized that the man – her soulmate – was probably still in the building when she called. Her screen just had gone blank, that means the man just had his TiMER removed. She could know who he was. She took the phone back in her hands and dialled the number once again. She recognized the voice of the man she had talked to a few seconds before.

" _Hi, it's Monica Geller again, I just talked to you about my... problem... with the TiMER that went blank. I'm wondering... This man probably was in your agency just a few minutes ago... maybe he's still there, signing papers or I don't know what... Could you... could you tell me his name?"_

" _I'm sorry miss, we can't disclose this kind of information. We have a very strict privacy policy."_

Monica sighed and hung up : she was expecting an answer like this. And if her soulmate had his TiMER removed, maybe it means he changed his mind. Maybe... Maybe he knew SHE was his soulmate and that made freak him out! Oh my God! That was the worst! She felt tears in her eyes and soon she started crying her eyes out. It was so unfair! She was so close!

* * *

Monica was still sobbing when she heard her door open. Shoot, nobody was supposed to be there at this hour! Weren't they all at work? And didn't Joey have an audition? What could she do? She couldn't hide, she didn't have the time. She couldn't dry her tears, her eyes were totally red anyway. She took her book and pretended to read.

She didn't raise her head to see who it was, but she heard Chandler's voice in her back : _"Hey Mon, not working today?"_

She had to answer. But her voice would betray her. She was hesitating whether she should answer in a probably shaky voice or not, but Chandler was already next to her.

" _Mon? Mon? You okay?"_

Chandler sat on the couch and tried to examinate Monica's face, which wasn't easy since she had it almost hidden behind the book.

" _Mon? My God you're crying? Mon? What's wrong?"_

Instantly, Chandler had put his arms around her shoulders and that kind gesture made her burst into tears again. She had to think of an explanation...

" _It's... no... the... it's... the book."_

" _The book? The book makes you cry this much?"_

She nodded but understood Chandler didn't believe her. He knew her better than that. When she was crying because of a book, the tears that rolled on her cheeks were silent and slow. Today, she was incontrollably sobbing and had difficulties to catch her breath. She was also shaking and that frightened Chandler.

" _Mon, come on. What's wrong?"_

" _I can't... I can't..."_

Chandler knew he shouldn't insist, so he took her in his arms and kissed her hair. Stroking her back, he hold her silently during almost a half an hour, until she had calmed down and fallen asleep. He gently laid her down on the couch and took the book to put it on the table. That's when something caught his eyes. Something on her left wrist, under her watch. His heart skipped a beat. Monica had a TiMER? Since when?

Carefully, he moved the armband of the watch away to look at the display.

Poor Mon, her TiMER was blank. Her soulmate didn't wear the device, and that probably depressed her. Chandler knew the feeling, he had experienced it during two years. It was exhausting. He put her watch back the way it was, making sure her TiMER was well hidden. He sighed and kissed her forehead before leaving the room.


	5. Chapter 5 : Janice's Revelation

**Since last chapter was quite short, I'm giving you an udpate tonight! (well, it's "tonight" where I am)  
**

 **We're now around the episode with the rugby, when Chandler and Rachel (in the show) meet Janice in a beauty parlor. Well, I'm changing the scenario here... And also : let's say that they never switched appartments (since it happened around that time), it's easier for the story :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 5 : Janice's Revelation**

Monica had her TiMER removed for more than two months now, and she had trouble not thinking about it. She knew her soulmate. But to what degree? She asked the question to the TiMER guy who took her device off and the man said that to reach zero, you should be very near to the person and meet he/she in person, which means talking to him/her. Great, that reduced the possibilities to... what? 300 guys? 500? 1 000? She didn't even know, like she counted the guys she met!

During the past two months, every time she had talked to a man she already knew, she had that thought in the back of her head : maybe it's him? Still never thinking that way with neither Joey or Chandler. They were, with Ross and her father of course, the exceptions. It's not that she ruled them out, it's just that it didn't cross her mind a second.

This morning, she decided to take some time to herself and went to the beauty parlor to have her nails done. The beautician had tried to talk a bit with her, but she realized Monica seemed preoccupied and didn't insist too much. Indeed, Monica had many thoughts in her mind : actually, she had only one, but the guys were passing one after the other in the frame of "the soulmate" in her mind, and none of them were convincing her.

She heard a loud sound in her back : _"OH MY GOD! MONICAAAAA!"_

Monica winced, she knew too well who was talking like that. She decided to act in a courteous way.

" _Hey Janice! How are you?"_

" _Good, good, I'm divorced!"_

" _Oh... Should I warn Chandler?"_ , she asked sarcastically.

" _Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah! No sweetie, Chandler is not my soulmate, you know! He wouldn't want me anymore!"_

Monica was surprised : Janice would never let Chandler go! Why was she saying something like that? She wanted to know more, after all she was stuck here for another 10 minutes at least : _"Oh? Since when?"_

" _Weeeelll... let's seeeeeeee... He announced me that... About two months ago I'd say. He seemed very depressed by that! Maybe his little thing was wrong!"_

" _His what?"_ What thing? Monica didn't think about the TiMER, she didn't see Chandler – a commitment phobic guy – as someone who would get that device. She was just curious and wondered what was the "little thing".

" _Oh, I don't remember the name... He showed it to me! It was on his wrist... What was the name...?"_

Monica froze. This could only be one thing.

" _T-TiMER?"_

Janice snapped her fingers : _"That's it!"_

Chandler had a TiMER? Monica was suddenly seeing his friend in a new light. Chandler was looking for his soulmate? She was curious:

" _And... what was written on his TiMER?"_

" _Zero. That's what bummed him out if I remember correctly. See, he thought_ _ **I**_ _was his soulmate because apparently he should have met his already, or I don't know what, I didn't really..."_

Monica interrupted her, very nervous : _"Janice? Do you remember anything else about the TiMER?"_

" _He showed it to me: it's really small. At first I didn't understand because he started our conversation by stating that his TiMER was stuck at zero since the day before, and I swear he thought I knew what he was talking about, but I had no idea! I was so confused! And he was so sad... What_ _ **I**_ _think, is that his TiMER is wrong and I'm his soulmate. Should I go see him? Monica?"_

Monica wasn't listening anymore. She was in a state of shock.

Zero. The day before. Two months ago. Everything fitted.

Chandler.

It was him.

It was so obvious.

She had searched everywhere, and all this time, the answer had been in front of her.

It's like all the clouds in her head had gone away, she was now seeing perfectly clear, everything made sense. She already knew him. His TiMER reached zero the day **SHE** had hers installed. Then, he had been sad, depressed... and maybe he took it off because – now that Janice was out of the picture – he was going crazy thinking of all the possibilities. She could understand that too well, herself going crazy for the past months.

Chandler.

She felt a lot of love suddenly in her heart. She already loved him. As a friend, sure, but she was already realizing he was probably more than just a friend. And she was fine with that.

" _Monica? Are you okay? You haven't move for the past two minutes?!"_

" _Huh?"_

" _Anyway... I have my appointment, I'm going to have my pubic hair removed, warn Chandler I'll be ready for him tonight, ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"_

At first, Monica felt a pinch in her heart, hearing Chandler's name, then she winced, thinking about Janice just said. She really didn't have any filter...

She paid for her manucure, then went straight to work, a lot of questions dancing in her head. How could she announce that to Chandler? Would he believe her? Wouldn't he freak out? If he had told her something like that, she surely would have laughed, not believing it.

Strangely, hearing this news from Janice made it more... real. Sure, she could still be wrong, after all Chandler had met numerous women and one of them could have gotten the TiMER the same day as her, but there were too many signs.

First, she had to make sure he didn't have his TiMER anymore.


	6. Chapter 6 : The Confirmation

**Thank you so much for the reviews! :) I wrote a longer chapter this time.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6 : The Confirmation**

Monica left work around midnight, tired and not only by her work. She had thought about Chandler all day. She had imagined her life with him. At first, it was weird, but she got used to it. He's kind, funny, gentle, smart, and cute. Sure, he can be complicated, but who is she to talk?

She quickly got worried: what if he couldn't stand her on a 24/7 basis? But, hey, weren't they already together all the time?

At first, Monica wanted to talk to Chandler as soon as possible, but during the day she changed her mind: she wanted to discretly observe him in a new light, in a boyfriend material way, and see how **she** would react. She wanted to check if she could picture her being her girlfriend. After all, they were great friends, and she didn't want to ruin that because of a device which efficacity hadn't be proven yet on a long term.

The next day, Monica was making breakfast in her kitchen when Chandler and Joey entered. Serving them pancakes, she casually said : _"Oh, I met Janice yesterday!"_

Joey pulled a face : _"Yeah? You're still alive?"_

Chandler remained calm : _"How was she?"_

Before Monica could answer, Joey turned to Chandler and pointed him with his finger : _"Don't!"_

" _What Joe?"_

" _Don't go back with her! Don't you think I've suffered enough?"_

Chandler smiled and patted his friend's shoulder : _"Don't worry man, I won't. So, Mon?"_

" _She seemed in good spirit. She just got divorced. But you should know that, Chandler, since she told me you saw her two months ago."_

Joey whined : _"Maaaaaaannn! Why, Chandler, why?"_

" _Calm down Joe! I just ran into her in Central Park and we talked a bit."_

Chandler had noticed that Monica was closely observing him, but it didn't cross his mind that Janice coud have talked about the TiMER. Maybe Janice had told Monica that Chandler was depressed at the time, that's why Monica was examinating him right now. He still had to think of a good reason, in case Monica would question him...

But Monica didn't push the topic any further and Joey changed the subject.

* * *

Later that morning, once Joey had left, Chandler was sitting on the couch, reading a newspaper, while Monica was busy wiping the dishes she had just cleaned. She couldn't stop observing Chandler – who couldn't see her – and had a new and weird desire to hug him, with no real reason.

" _Chandler."_

" _Yeah?"_

Shoot. Thinking too much about him, she now had said his name outloud without meaning to. He was half-turned, looking at her expectantly, she had to say something.

" _I just... Don't be mad at me or Janice please..."_

Chandler became uneasy and suspicious, he didn't like where this was going.

" _I don't know why I should be mad at you, but I'm starting to worry that I'm gonna be mad at Janice in a few seconds..."_

" _Because it's my fault, I pushed her to divulge some informations about you."_

" _Why?"_

Chandler's voice sounded irritated and Monica played nervously with the dish towel in her hands.

" _I have no excuse, Chandler. I guess I was just curious when she admitted that you probably didn't want her back. So I asked her why she would say such a thing..."_

With any other person, Chandler would have gotten angry, and would have left slamming the door, because he didn't want to talk about this TiMER thing. But he remembered Monica had one too.

" _What do you want to know?"_

" _When did you get it?"_

" _I think I was among the first persons to get one. More than two years ago. Remember, when I was depressed after Mr. Heckles died?"_

Monica nodded, came closer to the couch, and Chandler carried on : _"That's when I read an article about the TiMER. It was new and I wanted to try it. But to tell you the truth I'm not convinced. Maybe it works well when you don't know your soulmate yet and when both of you have the device. Otherwise... It's more painful than anything else. Don't you think?"_

Why was he asking that to her? Did he know she had a TiMER? Noooooo... How could he know?

Monica shrugged her shoulders and sat down next to him: _"I guess... So... tell me... What did yours say?"_

Chandler became suddenly uneasy again. He didn't want to share that part, but, again, it was Monica, and she had one too, so... Maybe she'll understand.

" _It's so stupid... You know, I was feeling down because I was afraid I was gonna die alone... but... this TiMER made me feel worse. First, it was blank during two years, which meant my "soulmate","_ said Chandler, air quoting the last word, _"didn't have a TiMER. That was awful, I was constantly looking women's wrists, constantly wondering if one day she'll get a TiMER... Anyway... I don't like talking about that..."_

Chandler paused and Monica patted his thigh.

" _I understand... It's harder to know you_ _ **can't**_ _know, than to not knowing anything at all."_

Chandler remembered Monica's blank TiMER and nodded, looking away : _"Yeah..."_

They sat in silence for like twenty seconds before Monica spoke again : _"You were talking in the past tense. I can see you left wrist and there is nothing there. What happened?"_

Chandler inhaled deeply before letting a loud sigh go out of his mouth : _"One afternoon, it beeped when I was at work. I looked at it and there was a 0 on the display. I was confused at first and thought that meant I was going to meet my soulmate this day. So when I saw Kathy for the first time at the coffee house, I thought she was the one. I felt attracted to her..."_

Chandler closed his eyes, shook his head while Monica needed some time to process everything. She just had the confirmation : yes, she got the TiMER this afternoon, before they met Kathy. She needed to touch him, so she grabbed his left hand and squeezed it.

" _But I was wrong. Yes, it could have been an option, but Kathy didn't have a TiMER anyway... And I understood the real reason of the beep too late. No, the truth is more complicated : the 0 meant I already knew my soulmate. And if I had met her with the device, it wouldn't even had beeped, since we've met before! See the headache? It's like I'll never know! I briefly thought it was Janice, but I was actually relieved when I found out she wasn't the one. Then I was very angry so I had it removed. I feel better without it."_

Turning towards Monica to see her reaction, Chandler noticed she had tears in her eyes.

" _Mon... Don't cry... You know what? It's a crappy thing anyway, you should have it removed too, you'll feel better."_

Monica looked at him with confusion. _What did he just say? How did he know I had one?_

" _What?"_

Her voice was almost a whisper and Chandler sighed, realizing too late his mistake. He didn't want to let her know he was aware of the device on her left wrist, he just wanted her to feel better, he couldn't stand seeing her cry.

" _I'm sorry Mon, I didn't do it in purpose. Remember one day, when I came here and you were crying your eyes out?"_

 _Yes Chandler, the day you had your TiMER removed._ No, she couldn't answer that, she wasn't ready to confess him what she knew. So she only nodded.

" _Well... You fell asleep, eventually, and... I saw something on your left wrist... I know! I know! I should never have watched it more closely... but I did. I knew it was a TiMER and I was curious. I saw yours was blank. That's why you cried that day, right?"_

Once again, Monica nodded, not adding that she was actually crying because her TiMER **had just** turned blank, but had a zero on it before that...

" _Don't cry for it, Mon. Live your life. And you know what? You're smart and sensitive : when you'll meet the guy, you'll know it's him. You don't need a TiMER to tell you who he is. You're better than that thing."_

She wanted to kiss him so badly, looking in his blue eyes, hearing those beautiful words said in his soft voice, with his right hand gently stroking her arm.

Chandler. Of course, it was Chandler. She should have seen it before, by herself.

Monica blinked slowly and gulped before murmuring : _"Thank you Chandler."_

He smiled, kissed her cheek and got up _: "Okay, I gotta go now. See you!"_


	7. Chapter 7 : Sharing Her Secret

**For those who hope Chandler will find out soon, I'm sorry to announce I'm planning to drag things a little bit longer :)**

 **I'm actually working on this story for like five months now (on and off), so I've reeeaaaaaaally thought about it, wondering how things should go... but the ending is not written yet!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7 : Sharing Her Secret**

" _Married! He's gonna get married!"_

" _I'm sorry Rach... I'm shocked too..."_

" _Don't tell me he seriously think she's his soulmate or I don't know what! He only knows her for a few months!"_

" _I don't know Rach..."_

Ross had just announced he was gonna marry Emily, and after a small celebration everyone had left the apartment. Rachel and Monica were now alone and Monica was trying to comfort her friend. On the TV, a movie was on but they didn't pay any attention to it.

Just hearing the word "soulmate" made her heart ache. A few weeks had passed since she understood who was her soulmate according to this TiMER thing, and she had the impression she was constantly thinking about that. Everything reminded her of him. Chandler. She felt she was slowly but surely falling in love with him, and she couldn't do anything.

She had wanted to talk to him a couple of times, but never found the courage. Sure, according to the TiMER, he's her soulmate. But this device could be wrong. What if he doesn't feel the same? For her, it was too late. Since she realized Chandler was the one she was meant to be with, Monica's love for him was growing fast.

Every time he talked, every time he smiled, every time he innocently touched her, she was more and more loving him. At first she was afraid that the others would suspect something, but she quickly realized that noone saw through her.

" _... Don't you think, Mon? ... Mon? ... Are you even listening to me?!"_

" _Mmmm...? Yes Rachel, I'm sure Ross will eventually realize his mistake and won't marry her. Don't worry."_

Rachel sighed, desesperate. Monica hugged her, sad for her friend, but her own mind turned to something else. At this moment, a commercial passed on the TV. _"Single? Tired of meaningless dating? Want to know when you'll meet the one? We've got a solution for you! Get a TiMER! TiMER will tell you when you will meet your soulmate. Only $299.99 for a lifetime full of happiness!"_

" _There! Here's what I need!"_ Rachel exclaimed.

Monica's eyes widened. She had to prevent her from making that huge mistake, especially if – like she suspected – Ross was her soulmate. Then, she'll have a blank screen, and if by miracle Ross would get a TiMER (highly unlikely) then the 0 and the anxiety...

" _Oh no! Trust me! I know! Don't do that!"_

" _I'm kidding Mon. Jeez, relax..."_

" _Oh..."_

Rachel looked at Monica suspiciously.

" _Why were you so adamant?"_

Monica fidgeted on the couch, uneasy.

" _It's... hum... I don't... I don't think this new technology is a good thing."_

" _Why did you say "I know"?"_

" _Hum... Because... That's I always say! I know!"_

" _Mon... Did you...?"_

Monica had an intern debate : should she tell her? Would Rachel understand? And more importantly: should she tell her who is her soulmate? She was keeping everything inside for some time now, and Monica was starting to think it would be good to share her secret with someone.

" _Mon? Do you have a TiMER?"_

" _No."_

This answer was easy because it was the truth. But Rachel was still skeptical and frowned at Monica.

" _Mon?!"_

Monica winced. Rachel was well-known for gossiping. Could Monica trust her?

" _Mon! Come on! You're hiding something from me!"_

" _I had one."_

There. She said it. She hadn't expected it, but Monica felt like confessing that out loud took a weight off her mind. She then pinched her lips, seeing Rachel's face, where confusion, surprise and excitement were mixed.

" _Wow! I- I had no idea! When did you get it? What did it say? Why did you take it off?"_ *

Monica smiled. She was a bit afraid Rachel was going to judge her or won't understand, so Monica was relieved to see her friend was actually very excited.

" _I got it three months ago, roughly. First it had a zero on it, then it went blank. I had it removed because it was too stressful, and since it went blank, it had no utility at all."_

" _Wow wow wow! Slow down! I don't know this thing very well. What does it mean, 'it had a zero on it'?"_ Rachel air quoted, rolling her eyes.

" _It means I had already met my "soulmate". I already knew him. So I didn't have a countdown."_

Rachel clapped her hands : _"Oh my God, Richard!"_

Monica smiled, her friend and herself had the same first idea... _"No, it's not Richard. He never wore a TiMER."_

She actually didn't know if the last part was true, but it wasn't important. Richard was totally out of the picture, and she hadn't think of him once since she found out Chandler was the one for her.

" _Oh..."_ Rachel seemed disappointed. _"Who is he, then?"_

Monica gulped. At the beginning of the conversation, she felt she was ready to tell someone, but now she wanted to keep that part for her. How would Rachel react if Monica told him casually that Chandler was her soulmate? She would laugh. Monica was sure of it, and she didn't want Rachel to laugh as if the idea of Monica and Chandler together was a joke. It was dead serious to her.

" _Um... I... I'm not sure. It can be any guy I already knew before getting the TiMER."_

" _Oh, God, but you've met like a thousand guys, how could you know?"_

" _See... That's why I had it removed. Too stressful."_

Rachel nodded : _"I understand... My God Mon... Wow..."_

" _You don't think I'm pathetic?"_

" _What? No! Absoluely not! I think it's great you tried it! Now you know your special one is out there, waiting for you. And you know you already know him, so that eliminates... I don't know... 3 billion guys?"_

Monica and Rachel laughed and hugged each other again.

Monica was at ease. Rachel wasn't judging her and she felt much better. But she had one "little" burden on her shoulders left. In the arms of her friend, Monica felt safe, relieved and happy. This state of mind made her whisper, without thinking Rachel would hear : _"It's Chandler."_

Rachel abruptely stopped the hug and looked at Monica in shock, her mouth wide open. She screamed : _"WHAT?!"_

Monica froze. Had she say that out loud? She wanted to think it, not say it. _"What?"_

Rachel pointed a finger at Monica : _"Monica... What did you just say?"_

" _Thank... you...?"_

Rachel shook her finger, her eyes still wide open : _"No no no no no... You said a name. A name I know."_

" _Thanks Rachel?"_ Monica winced. She was so bad at lying, she was making a fool of herself. She looked away and sighed : the time had come to tell the whole truth to someone.

Monica had planned a scenario in her head, where she would tell Chandler first, he would answer he feels the same and everything would go well. But time has passed and she was too afraid to talk to him, afraid of losing him by frightening him, afraid things would get awkward afterwards.

Feeling the tension, Rachel's voice became suddenly very soft as she put one hand on Monica's right thigh : _"Monica? Is Chandler the guy that also had a zero on his TiMER?"_

She didn't want to use the word "soulmate", it was too weird for now. Chandler, soulmate of Monica? It sounded odd. Still looking away, Monica slowly nodded and explained quickly : _"I didn't find out immediately. Let's just say that... I had an information and... we talked and... I understood. I'm 100 % sure it's him and he doesn't have a clue."_

" _Chandler? A TiMER? Wow... And I thought he was commitment phobic!"_

" _I know! He doesn't have it anymore though. I guess he was tired to wonder who she was too..."_

Rachel blinked her eyes and shook her head, in disbelief, before asking Monica : _"But... So... How do you feel about it?"_

Monica smiled and looked at Rachel : _"Very good... It's like... It's like I'm finally seeing clear, you know? It's like : 'oh my God of course, it's so obvious!' I know we're not in a relationship yet, but he's everything I'm looking for. He's smart, he's caring, he's funny, he's a good listener, he knows how to calm me down, I'm sure he can be tender, and he's really cute."_

As she was talking, Monica's smile grew bigger and bigger, and Rachel coudn't help but smile too. Her friend was so smitten... with Chandler! Incredible! She hugged Monica : _"I'm so happy for you, Mon!"_

After a few seconds, Monica suddenly sat up straight : _"Please Rach, don't tell anyone!"_

Too shocked and moved by Monica's previous revelation, Rachel promised : _"Of course Mon, don't worry! How are you going to tell him though?"_

Monica sighed : _"I'm still wondering... I'm so afraid to scare him. What if he doesn't believe me? What if it doesn't work and we lose our beautiful friendship? What if he..."_

" _Mon! Mon! Stop it! Listen... He'll believe you. It will work, because I can totally see it happening. Don't worry about your friendship, it'll be strengthened."_

Monica smiled weakly, it felt good hearing such an optimistic point of view.

" _You do see it happening?"_

Rachel confirmed : _"Yes. Everything you said before... it's true. We often make fun of him... maybe because he's too kind actually. He never fights back, so it's easy to take him down. I never really thought deeply of everything we say. We're too harsh. He's a great catch. He'll defend you, he won't cheat on you, he'll cheer you up... Man, suddenly I wish_ _ **I**_ _was his soulmate!"_

Monica laughed. She was glad to hear compliments on her maybe-future-boyfriend from her best friend.

Rachel continued : _"But!... I don't think you should tell him about the TiMER thing at first."_

Monica frowned : _"What do you mean?"_

" _I mean starting a relationship by saying 'hey you, our TiMERs said we should be together, so let's try it!' is lame. Seriously, it sucks. Don't do it. What I think is you should find a way to be in a relationship with him, and only after that confessing about the TiMER, which will be a detail by then. It'll be waaaaaaaaaayyyyyy more romantic!"_

Monica's lips started to form a smile, thinking about what Rachel had just said. She was right. But how she could get in a relationship with Chandler? Chandler? Her best friend (well, with Rachel). Especially after what happened at the beach last year...

" _I need a plan..."_

" _A plan? For what? Seducing him?"_ Rachel asked, confused.

" _No, it's more than that. I don't think seducing him would work. He'll freak out. I need to go on a date with him and... I don't know... show him how I feel? What do you think?"_

Rachel pondered about what Monica just said. Of course Chandler would freak out if Monica tried to seduce him. It's Chandler. And Monica is his best female friend, he would be confused, lost, he'd panick... it wouldn't work.

She spoke slowly, hesitating : _"Maybe... maybe you should send him signals. You know... So he would get used to it, he would start asking himself questions. And then, when you feel it's the right time, you ask him out... or you share you feelings."_

Monica winced : _"I don't want him to get anxious and weird because of my signals... But... it seems the best solution so he won't panick too much..."_

" _You two are already really close. Just... get a little bit closer. Kiss him longer on the cheek. Stroke his hair. Whisper in his ears. Let you eyes linger on him when you look at him."_

Monica nodded excitedly : _"Wow! You're good!"_

Rachel smiled proudly and shrugged her shoulders : _"Some learn maths or history in high school, I learned flirting!"_

" _Thanks for the tips! Promise me you won't tell anyone, Rach!"_ Monica warned.

" _I promise I promise! Geez, trust me Mon..."_

Monica gave her a knowing look.

" _Well, okay, I have some difficulties keeping secrets... I'll keep this one I promise! But you can't help me enjoy watching you slowly seduce him..."_

Monica smiled. She's gonna do it. It'll work. It has to.


	8. Chapter 8 : Sending Signals

**Again, thank you so much for your nice words, I really appreciate reading your thoughts :) Okay, more interactions between Monica and Chandler here!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8 : Sending Signals**

Monica was lying in bed, having trouble to sleep well. Rachel told her to send signals to Chandler, and had given her some good examples. Now, Monica had to do it for real, and it was less easy. She was nervous : how will Chandler react? Will he get it? Will he accept all her gestures? She had to do it to know. She had to do it to move forward.

Suddenly she heard the front door of her apartment opening. Monica quickly watched her clock. 5:07 AM. Normally, noone was up so early. She got up, opened the door of her bedroom and saw Chandler, his head in the fridge.

" _Chandler? What are you doing up so early?"_

Chandler lifted his head, he looked tired and annoyed. He slammed the door of the fridge before speaking sharply : _"Maybe you should ask Joey! Who, by the way, is sleeping deeply and loudly!"_

Monica smiled and came closer to Chandler. _"Still snoring, heh? You tried to roll him over?"_

" _Oh yeah! Thanks for the advice!"_

Monica heard sarcasm in his tone and didn't understand. _"And?"_

" _And let's say I now know a lot more about my roomate... physically speaking."_

Monica couldn't repress a chuckle while Chandler sighed and sat down at the table. Monica tried to comfort him, thinking of Rachel's tips: standing up behind him, she passed her arms around his shoulders and put her head against his. She whispered in his left ear.

" _I'm sorry Chandler..."_

" _Don't be. It's not your fault."_

Still in the same position, she kissed his cheek for like 3 or 4 seconds – _"he smells so good..."_ – before running down a hand through his hair – _"damn, they're so soft..."_ – and sitting down on a chair in front of him.

She saw he was looking at her, perplexed and amused. Maybe the hug, the whisper, the kiss and the hand in his hair were too much... Anyway, she probably should act as if it was a normal thing. If only he could stop looking at her this way! She so badly wanted to kiss him...

They stared at each other for a few seconds and Monica felt some electricity. Did Chandler feel it too? Probably, because he suddenly looked incomfortable. She saw him gulped and he quickly looked away, stammering : _"You... ah... I'm... t-ex-I-I..."_ he sighed, closed briefly his eyes, and resumed : _"I just want to sleep..."_

" _Oh! You can sleep on our couch."_

" _I don't know... I don't want to disturb or..."_

" _You won't. Sleep on our couch. I'm going to get you a blanket."_

Monica got up and Chandler was too tired to discuss. Monica said : "Sleep on our couch.", it was an order, and he was going to obey. He still was puzzled by what happened a few minutes ago. Monica hugged him, okay. She whispered in his ear, okay, she didn't want to wake up Rachel. But the kiss on his cheek was... so soft... and long. And then she passed her hand through his hair! None of his friends never did that before! It sent shivers down his spine. And the look they exchanged... It was... It was full of... desire? Could it be that? Desire? From Monica? For him?

" _There you go sweety."_

Monica was back with a blanket, interrupting his thoughts.

He smiled : _"Thanks. Don't worry, it's just for this night. Actually, it's just for the next 2 hours. I'm taking him to the clinic."_

Monica grinned : _"No problem. Good... end of the night, then?"_

" _Yeah... Good beginning of the morning."_

Chandler was so exhausted that he fell asleep immediately, but Monica couldn't get back to sleep. She was thinking of him, in her living room. _He's such a good friend to Joey... He lets him sleep whereas he, he's awake. He could easily make noise too to disturb Joey and get revenge. But no. And he's gonna take him to the clinic._

She turned around in her bed and sighed. She was missing him. She couldn't believe it. He was on the other side of her door and she was missing him... Monica buried her head in her pillow, she was so frustrated she wanted to scream. Damn! Since when Chandler had such an effect on her? It's Chandler. Chandler. Her friend. He's the same as some months ago. Except... Her feelings had changed, and sometimes she was still surprised by how strong they were.

She slowly got up and opened her door. Chandler was asleep on the couch, gripping the blanket with his right hand.

 _He's so cute, he looks so peaceful..._

Monica sat down in the armchair, looking at him. She wanted to stroke his hair, to caress his cheeks, to kiss his mouth, first slowly, and then...

" _Monica?"_

Rachel was up in front of the door of her bedroom, half awake.

" _Huh?"_

" _What are you doing? Why is Chandler here?"_

" _He-I-I-he-I..."_

Rachel gave her an amused look. _"Wow... you REALLY like him A LOT!"_

" _Sssssshhhhhhhh!"_ Monica quickly got up, panicked Chandler might hear that.

Rachel was still smiling, as Monica was pushing her inside her bedroom, going in too. She started to explain : _"He couldn't sleep because Joey was snoring, so I offered him the couch. That's all."_

" _Oh yeah, that's all. And why exactly were you watching him sleep with that look on your face?"_

" _What look?"_

Rachel didn't answer, she slowly shook her head, watching Monica, still smiling.

Monica felt nervous, not knowing what Rachel had meant, and asked again : _"What?"_

Instead of answering, Rachel gave Monica a hug, finally saying : _"You think you'll be able to confess him your feelings someday?"_

Monica was surprised by the question and got defensive : _"Hey, I followed your advice! I kissed him on the cheek, stroked his hair, whispered in his ear!"_

Rachel was skeptical : _"At all once?"_

Monica ducked her head, still nervous : _"Well... I wanted to quicken the process!"_

Rachel softly laughed : _"Oh my God, Mon! The poor guy must be confused. Thank God he didn't saw you watching him sleep."_

" _But! **YOU** told me to do that!"_

Rachel winced : _"Yeeeeaaaaah... I thought about it afterwards. You're already too close. I'm not sure he'll understand. You'll have to be clearer with him, show him what you want, maybe tell him frankly how you feel. Come on Mon, you're not 14 anymore, you've done that before."_

" _It's different. It's Chandler."_

Rachel shrugged her shoulders, helpless : _"I'm sorry Mon. I know you're scared but I'm sure in the end it's gonna be okay. Maybe not right after you tell him how you feel. But in the end. You have to tell him quickly, it's eating you."_

Monica sat down on Rachel's bed, knowing her friend was right. Since she realized Chandler was the one, since she started to feel her new feelings, she kept postponing the day she was going to tell him, she kept changing the way of telling him in her mind.

Because she was too afraid of his reaction.

She wanted to live forever in this sweet moment where everything was still possible, where she could imagine his reaction like she would have liked it.

But she couldn't go on like this forever, and even if she was extremely scared of what was going to happen, she had to know. HE had to know how she was feeling.


	9. Chapter 9 : Confessing Her Feelings

**A shorter chapter this time... but an important one!**

 **I know normally Phoebe is in Central Perk too with Monica, but let's say she stayed at Monica's place. Let's also say that Joey got back at the appartment, instead of coming to Central Perk.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9 : Confessing Her Feelings**

Monica was sitting in the orange couch at Central Perk when Chandler entered and they greeted each other.

" _So, is Joey gonna stop snoring?"_

" _Yep! And! A beautiful woman agreed to go out with me."_

Monica's heart stopped. _What? No! No no no no! He couldn't go out with someone!_

" _Joey wanted to ask her out, but uh, she picked me."_

" _Wh-wh-wh-what?"_

Seeing the shock on Monica's face, Chandler misinterpreted it and thought she was amazed that a woman could pick him over Joey.

" _Well she's, she's the kinda girl — Joey was unconscious."_

Monica was still astouned. He couldn't go out with a girl! She had to do something!

" _You can't go out with her!"_

 _Great Mon, very subtle._

" _Huh? Why?"_

" _Because, because..."_

She was panicking, she had to calm down. She sighed and felt ready to tell him. How to start though?

" _I... um... I have something to tell you."_

Chandler heard the serious tone and got worried. Did Monica know something secret about this girl? How could she, he didn't even mention her name!? So... Was Monica sick? He sat down properly on the couch, getting closer to his friend.

" _What is it Mon?"_

Monica fidgeted on the couch, her heart beating hard, her hands starting to sweat. She couldn't look at him, so her eyes were focused on her fingers.

" _Please don't freak out. It's not easy to say..."_

She paused and Chandler searched for her eyes. Monica finally lifted her head and her eyes met Chandler's. She could see he was worried, anxious, confused, and she opened her mouth to explain. But she couldn't make a sound, the words were stuck in her throat.

Then she heard Chandler's soft voice and she felt his hand gently stroking her hand. _"I won't freak out, I promise. Tell me, Mon."_

 _If I kiss him right now, is it a bad idea?_

" _You can't go out with her because I don't want you to."_

 _Not romantic, but easier._

Chandler frowned : _"Why?"_

Monica spoke slowly, choosing carefully her words : _"Because... lately... I've been... I've had... I've started seeing you... differently."_

Chandler tensed up, but his hand remained on Monica's. _What does it mean? Monica? Having feelings for me? No no no... it's surely a mistake. I probably misunderstood. I'm just her friend, funny Chandler._

Monica obviously saw how Chandler was troubled, she saw his jaw clenching, she saw him gulped, but she continued : _"I was afraid to tell you my feelings, and if you don't feel the same, that's okay. You're so important to me, I don't want to lose you."_

Chandler was stunned and started to panick. _What did she just say? She has feelings for me? That... can't... be... real... Am I dreaming? Is she making fun of me? Is it a prank? A test? What am I supposed to do? I can't... God, it's Ross' sister! Ross' baby sister!_

Chandler was totally lost in his thoughts and didn't see the anxious look on Monica's face. She brought him back to reality.

" _Chandler, please, say something..."_

" _I... I..._ " He tried to find some words, but he couldn't answer anything. He had no idea what he should say, he had no idea what he wanted to say. So he asked : _"When? Why? WHY?"_

She smiled, he was still so self-deprecating... She started to speak, carefuly avoided talking about the TiMER.

" _It happened during the last few weeks. I was surprised at first, sure. But... As time passed, I felt more and more sure. And Chandler... why?"_ She shook her head, looking at him directly in the eyes, showing him the answer was so obvious. _"Because I've known you for a long time now, and I know all your qualities. You're loyal, you're so kind under your shell, you're a good listener and... so much more."_

Her voice was so soft, his heart melted. But everything was so sudden, he needed time to process what had just happened. So he choose to answer with the only protection he had, humour.

" _Um. Loyal, kind, good listener... I guess I would make a good dog."_

She laughed, understanding he – as always – was using humour as a protection. Chandler was trying to find a more serious answer, but couldn't. So he let his heart speak.

" _Thank you Monica. I know that's not the answer you want from me, but thank you. I just... I don't know what else to say, it's so unexpected."_

" _Don't worry, I understand. I don't want you to tell me something you don't mean, just to please me. I want the truth. And if you're not ready yet for it, if you're not sure, I'll wait. And don't be afraid to tell me you're not feeling the same way, because, well, like I told you, I want the truth. And be sure that it won't change anything between us, because I'll never be mad at you for something you don't feel, or..."_

Monica had planned to stay calm, but now she was speaking fast, her hands moving in the air. Chandler smiled, seeing her losing control, and he catched her arms, trying to calm her down.

" _Mon. Mon. MON! Stop it._ _I won't go out with Marjorie."_

" _Oh..."_

" _I just need some time, okay?"_

" _Okay..."_

" _Come here..."_

Chandler opened his arms and Monica closed the small gap between them to hug him. She put her head on his shoulder as he was stroking her back, and she felt at the right place, safely in his arms.

* * *

 **I hope you're not disappointed by how Monica confesses her feelings, but I wanted to try something different in this story, because of the TiMER and Monica not knowing how to talk to Chandler... Don't worry, the best is still yet to come.**


	10. Chapter 10 : Conversation With Rachel

**Chapter 10 : Conversation With Rachel**

That night, Chandler was laying in bed, totally confused. He had given Marjorie's phone number to Joey and they had gone on a date, so at least he was at peace alone in the apartment.

Chandler was replaying again and again in his mind the scene that had happened earlier at Central Perk. Monica had told him she had feelings for him. That's what she said, right? He couldn't remember the exact words, he had been so surprised and puzzled.

One thing was sure, he remembered Monica had told him all these beautiful things about his qualities. He had always been so insecure, and he could tell his friends were only seeing him as "funny Chandler", never really trying to see what could be under his armour. He also felt that sometimes he annoyed them, especially Phoebe. So hearing Monica listing some of his qualities had warmed his heart. And she said "and so much more". He was sure of it, because he had wanted to ask what exactly, but he was somehow afraid of the answer, already too confused by Monica's revelation.

 _Could she_ _ **really**_ _love me? Me? Chandler? I could make an extraordinary woman like Monica fall in love with me? I have this power? Love? For real?_

He didn't want things to become awkward between them, but he also needed some time to think.

Could he picture himself in a relationship with Monica? Sure, they were already very comfortable around each other, but this was to another level. Would he like to kiss her? Obviously. Would he like... more than that? He gulped, slightly incomfortable with that thought. It was new to him, never he had thought of Monica that way.

What would a relationship with Monica look like? It was hard for Chandler to answer. She was a bit neurotic, but so was he. Would she bear him?

Then Chandler remembered something Monica had told him. Her feelings weren't totally new, she had waited, she wanted to be sure. So, if she confessed to him, then she was sure, so that must mean she'd bear him.

All these thoughts running in his mind were giving him a headache that reminded him those he had with the TiMER. TiMER. He froze. Did Monica know something? The day his TiMER beeped, was it the day Monica has had hers? Did she find out? Was it why she suddenly started seeing him differently? She mentionned being surprised. Surprised by her feelings or surprised by learning Chandler was supposed to be the one?

He had to know, he couldn't stand the incertainty anymore. _Damned TiMER! I don't want Monica to feel obligated to be with me just because a stupid device said so..._

Chandler got up and went to the apartment across the hall. He stopped in the doorway, seeing Rachel and Phoebe in wedding dresses.

" _What the..."_

" _Oh my God Chandler, you can't see Monica!"_

Rachel seemed panicked whereas Phoebe was perplexed : _"Why? It's not like he's gonna marry her!"_

Rachel didn't acknowledge what Phoebe had just said and yelled : _"Mon! Stay in the bathroom!"_

" _What's going on here?"_ Chandler asked.

Rachel took a deep breathe : _"We were just... a bit depressed. It turns out wearing this really cheers you up."_

" _You should try."_ Phoebe added.

Chandler gave her a weird look. _"No thanks... I don't want to end like my father."_

Rachel was still in front of the door of the bathroom, like she was protecting her friend inside, although Chandler didn't have the power to see through doors. _"Anyway... you should probably leave, Chandler."_

Chandler understood that Monica was surely in a wedding dress too, and he nodded, leaving without adding anything.

Back in his room, Chandler thought about Rachel's attitude. It seemed like she knew something... After all, she's Monica's best friend.

Monica.

Thinking of her, his heart wrenched.

Monica.

God, was he already starting having feelings for her? Was it so easy? So fast?

Yes, he wanted to hold her, to reassure her, to kiss her, to tell her not to worry, that everything will be okay. But... they were friendly feelings. Right? He wasn't sure anymore.

What if he also had feelings for her but had buried them down?

He always had liked making her laugh, seeing her smile to him, more than anyone else. She was her favorite girl. They had shared many secrets. He was able to be more vulnerable with her, he trusted her. But he also trusted his other friends. So... how to explain the difference he was feeling in his relationship with Monica, compared to his other friends?

Again, it was getting complicated and his head started to spin.

Tired, he eventually fell asleep.

* * *

Next day was Wednesday, and he knew Monica had a lot of work at the restaurant. He didn't want to bother her with his questions, plus now he was a bit scared of asking her. The more he thought about it, the more he was afraid of the truth. He remembered how Rachel seemed to know something the day before, and decided to talk to her. He casually invited her to have lunch with him, something they often did.

After meeting Rachel at the entrance of the building of her office, they chated about their morning at work and finally entered a cosy restaurant. They sat down and ordered food. Chandler began becoming uneasy, not knowing how to discuss this topic. Rachel noticed something was wrong and asked him what was bothering him.

" _It's... ha..."_ Chandler passed a hand through his hair, searching for his words, _"... see Rach, yesterday, I... I kinda had the impression that... you knew something about Monica's...feelings?"_

Rachel tensed up a bit : was she supposed to tell him she knew? And if so, to what extend? The feelings? The TiMER? Everything? Would Monica approve? Was it part of her plan?

Rachel stay silent, so Chandler kept going : _"I'm just... totally confused, you know? Monica... she... she talked to me the other day. I'm not really sure of what she confessed, though. She definitely told me she was seeing me differently, and she added she was surprised when it happened, and... I'm just wondering why."_

Rachel still didn't speak. Monica hadn't told her yet she had talked to Chandler, they were too busy talking about Ross's wedding and having fun with the wedding dresses. Chandler understood that Rachel didn't want to betray her friend by revealing too much, so he insisted : _"Look, Rach... I get it, you don't want to say anything, but it's important to me. Monica seemed... worried? I'm not sure... Anyway, I want to take the right decision, I can't risk our friendship. And to take the right decision, I need to know everything. Does Monica know something about the TiMER?"_

Rachel froze. Damn, Chandler was too smart. How did he figure that out? She cleared her voice: _"What makes you say that?"_

" _I don't know, it's just... I don't see any other reason why she would suddenly have feelings for me. And I don't want her to feel obligated to feel that way just because a stupid device said so."_

Okay, maybe smart wasn't the right word. More suspicious and definitely unsecure. She raised her hands: _"Wow! Wait a minute? Feel obligated? You really think one can feel obligated to have feelings for someone?"_

Chandler shrugged his shoulders: _"I don't... I... I don't know. I don't understand why Monica would have feelings for me suddenly, that's all."_

" _Okay Chandler. First, it's not suddenly, so stop saying that word. Then, if you don't understand, you should ask Monica, she has beautiful things to say about you."_

" _I know but..."_

Rachel raised her index finger, showing she hadn't finished talking. _"And finally... maybe it's not a stupid device after all, this TiMER. You know what she told me? That she finally saw clear. When she understood you were the one, she realized how obvious that was. It helped her. It's not a bad thing."_

It was Chandler's turn to be quiet. So he was right about the TiMER. But he would never have guessed that Monica was her "soulmate" (he couldn't help but putting air quotes on this word in his mind). Monica...

" _Was she... disappointed? When she found out."_

" _What? Chandler! I just told you! She said you're everything she's looking for!"_

While revealing the conversation she had with Monica, Rachel felt she was divulging too much, but at the same time she had the impression it was necessary. So she continued : _"She really loves you, silly. She's too afraid to show you how much exactly, she didn't know how to do it. I gave her a few tips, but... anyway... now you know. She did her part, so now it's up to you."_

Chandler fidgeted on his chair, uncomfortable. _"Up to me? What do you mean?"_

Rachel sighed – God, these two really needed her help – and explained : _"You know the truth. You know how she feels. She doesn't know anything! Chandler, she's deeply anxious. 'How can I make him understand how I feel for him?', 'How is he gonna react when he'll learn the truth about the TiMER?', 'Will he love me too?'... You have to reassure her. It's your turn to show her how you feel. I mean, IF you feel the same way, obviously..."_

Chandler had a hard time believing everything Rachel said. Did Monica really asked herself those exact questions? It seemed... unreal. He passed a hand in his hair and scratched the back of his head : _"Are you really sure about how she feels?"_

Again, Rachel sighed, exasperated : _"YES!"_ After a pause she asked : _"How do YOU feel?"_

Chandler looked away, _"I don't... I... It's so unexpected. My TiMER was linked with Monica's then... It's still new to me... I never thought Monica was the one..."_

Rachel interrupted him : _"Neither did she."_

Chandler nodded, he didn't know what to say anymore, everything was so confused in his mind. Rachel noted the uncertainty on his friend's face and thought about Monica, and how sure of her she was. She didn't want her best friend to have her heart crushed by another of her dear friends. Rachel spoke again : _"Whatever you feel, whatever you do... Be sure. Don't rush anything. Think about it. And when you're ready to announce her your decision, you know she'll also be ready to hear it. Whatever this is."_

Chandler turned his head to look directly at her, his eyes betraying the panic that was quickly invading him : _"My God, what a pressure this is!"_

But Rachel's answer wasn't the one Chandler had hoped... _"God, I'm gonna be late, look at the time!"_

" _Are you seriously leaving me right now?"_ Chandler was panicking, not knowing what to do when he'll see Monica again, and he wanted more advice from Rachel.

Rachel was already up, she grabbed her coat and her purse, saying : _"Well... yeah! You're a big boy! See you!"_

And she was gone.


	11. Chapter 11 : Falling In Love With Monica

**Again, thank you so much for your kind words :)**

 **Chandler is really having a hard time believing Monica could love him - you know how self depreciative he is :) - but it's slowly evolving...**

* * *

 **Chapter 11 : Falling In Love With Monica**

The following days were weird for Chandler and Monica. They barely spoke to each other, but luckily everyone was too busy preparing Ross and Emily's wedding to notice the distance between the two friends.

More than ten days had passed since Monica had confessed her feelings, and she was starting to think that Chandler wasn't feeling the same way. How to explain his silence? His embarrassed smiles? His absences more and more recurrent? Monica was trying hard to be happy for her brother, but it was more and more difficult, when her own heart was being broken into a thousand pieces.

Little did she know that Chandler's silence and absences were his way to think about a relationship between them, and his embarrassed smiles a way to hide the new feelings he was having.

Chandler started to pay attention to everything Monica was doing, like how diligent she was when she washed the dishes, or how caring she was with Rachel. He also noticed her smile was becoming more and more fake when it came to Ross's wedding, and he wondered why. Did she not like Emily? Did she feel bad for Rachel? Was she sad it was Ross' second wedding and she wasn't married?

Quite often, Monica would catch him looking – no, staring – at her. He was then quickly looking away, his cheeks becoming slightly red, and Monica was left confused. Why was he constantly looking at her? Couldn't he be more clear? Couldn't he speak to her? Say he wasn't interested? Say he wasn't in love ? She sometimes wanted to scream at him. But instead she sighed.

In the same time, Chandler was experiencing a new and weird pain in his chest and abdomen when he was looking at Monica, or even just thinking about her. He knew what it was, but he couldn't decide if it was genuine or just an effect of knowing the TiMER had designed Monica as his "soulmate". This was what was clearly bothering him : deep down, was he loving her, or was it just a wish?

They now were leaving for London in three days, it was 8 PM and Chandler was coming back from work, later than usual, but like always these days. Climbing the stairs of his building, he felt happy to be reunited with his friends in a minute or so, even thought he knew he was going to spend another evening staring at Monica, trying to figure out what was really going on in his heart and his mind.

But when he opened the door of the girls' apartment, he was surprised by the unusual silence. He was even more surprised when he entered and didn't see any of his friends. He frowned, feeling something wasn't right. Just a few minutes ago, he had passed in front of Central Perk and none of his friends were there. His eyes wandered across the living room, and he saw someone on the balcony. Monica.

Chandler put his briefcase on a chair and went to the small window to access to the balcony. He first put his head through the open window, but Monica hadn't noticed him. She was looking away, pensive. _"She's beautiful"_ , he thought. He could have stayed longer staring at her but he didn't want to scare her when she'll finally notice him, so he murmured a soft : _"Hey."_

Monica jumped in surprise and yelled briefly, before putting a hand on her chest, catching her breath. _"Jeez, Chandler, you scared me..."_

Chandler climbed the window and went on the balcony, apologizing : _"Sorry... I thought you had seen me on the street from above"_ , he lied, and immediately felt guilty of doing so, but it was the first time in ten days he was alone with Monica and he was nervous.

" _Oh... I didn't."_ Monica answered, a blank expression in her eyes.

Chandler got closer as Monica turned back to rest her elbows on the wall. Chandler went next to her and did the same. They were now both looking at the busy street, the buildings and the sky, silently.

Chandler broke the silence : _"Where are the others?"_

Monica answered quickly : _"Joey has a date. Ross is spending his evening talking to Emily on the phone. Phoebe took Rachel to the movies to try to made her feel better and forget about the wedding."_

There was still with no emotion in her voice, which was unusal, thought Chandler, because she was always passionnate about everything, and one could think she'd be passionnate talking about Rachel's feelings for Ross. He also wanted to ask why she hadn't gone with them, but the silence filled the air again and Chandler was afraid of breaking it another time.

Yet, after a few minutes, Chandler gathered his courage and gulped before saying, almost in a whisper : _"I'm sorry I avoided you lately."_

Monica shivered, just hearing the soft sound of his voice, and she hoped he didn't notice it. She tried to smile, even though she knew he would see how fake her smile was : _"That's okay. I get it. Don't worry."_

Chandler could feel in her voice how hurt she was. Plus, she had interpreted it wrongly. Shoot, he had to do something. _"No! No! That's not what you think! I got confused because of this TiMER thing..."_

Monica froze. The TiMER? How did he know? How did he find out? Oh no... Rachel...

Monica closed her eyes, not knowing what to say and not wanting to see the apologizing look on his face. She didn't want his pity.

Chandler carried on : _"I just... I still need a little more time. It's not a bad thing, you know. I just have to let it sink in and..."_

He looked at her. She had her eyes closed and Chandler could tell she was on the verge to cry. He softly stroked her arm and wispered : _"Mon..."_

Her nickname said in his soft voice was too much. Silent tears were now rolling down on her cheeks. She felt angry too, she didn't want him to see her like that. But what could she do? She tried to breath deeply and slowly, trying to calm herself, and to stop the tears from falling down.

" _Come here."_

She wasn't sure if he had said it or if it was her imagination, but he definitely pulled her into a hug. At first she kept her hands close to her chest, while he was stroking her back with one hand and her hair with his other hand. She then felt so good in his arms she slipped her own arms around him and buried her head in his shoulder.

Holding Monica felt so right, everything was easy, Chandler didn't have to overthink like he did with all his previous girlfriends. Meanwhile, Monica was calming down, feeling so good in Chandler's arms. She breathed his scent somewhere between his neck and his shoulder, and Chandler answered by kissing the top of her head.

From the outside, they looked like two close friends, and when Ross entered the apartment and saw them hugging, he couldn't know he was about to interrupt something deeper than an act of friendship.

" _Hey guys, everything's allright?"_

Quickly, Chandler pulled away from Monica, like he was guilty of something, but Ross didn't notice. Monica cleared his throat: _"Yeah, just... feeling homesick already! How was Emily?"_ she then changed the subject.

Ross was too happy to talk about Emily, and Chander and Monica came back inside to hear him go on and on about his future wedding. Soon, Chandler found an excuse to go back in his apartment.

There, he sat in his barcalounger and thought about what happened tonight. What if Monica was really the one for him? He was happy being alone with her. He felt complete earlier, holding her. They could stay together, not talking, and be perfectly fine, there was no akward silence. And it was more and more aching in his chest when he thought about her.

Chandler knew he had to do something now, he couldn't spend the rest of his life wondering if the TiMER was or wasn't the reason for his – and her – new feelings. He had to pretend the TiMER never existed – for now – and act quickly.

Suddenly, Chandler had an idea and picked up the phone. He didn't care what time it was in London, he had to start his plan before he could freak out and change his mind.


	12. Chapter 12: Surprise! (part1)

**Once again, thank you so much for the reviews, I'm trying to write the best ending possible for this story and your words help me doing so :)**

 **I had to cut this chapter in two parts, I hope you'll like the first part...**

* * *

 **Chapter 12 : Surprise! (part 1)**

Everyone – well, except Phoebe and Rachel – was now in London, checking in at the hotel. Unlike the guys who were together, Monica was alone in his room, and when she opened the door, she didn't notice anything at first. She put her suitcase away and washed her hands. That's when she came back from the bathroom that she saw it. On her bed. A letter.

A letter? Or just a piece of paper? What was that thing? Coming closer, it was really just a sheet of paper folded in two. She opened it and read.

" _Can't stop thinking about you. You're on my mind every second. Can't wait to see you in your bridesmaid's dress. I'm sure you'll be the most beautiful woman as always."_

What the...? Monica instinctively looked around her, as if the guy who had written that was in her bedroom. Sure, the words were nice, but since it was there before she even arrived and there was no signature, Monica thought it was creepy and she started to worry. She decided to phone the reception.

" _Yes, sorry to disturb you, but I got a letter on my bed and... yes... Monica Geller, yes... But could you tell me from who it is? ... But... How can I be sure the guy is not going to kill me in my sleep? ... What do you mean he's invited to the wedding? I don't see why he... okay... okay... thank you... not."_

Monica hang up angrily. It was a guy at the reception that had written the letter, so she couldn't even analyze the writing. They wouldn't let her know who her secret admirer was, and even if they were pretty reassuring, she couldn't help but being more and more worried.

She wasn't feeling safe in her room, and decided to go out. Chandler and Joey were at the bar and Monica felt better, seeing two familiar faces.

" _Hey guys, what's up?"_

" _Hey Mon"_ smiled Chandler, whereas Joey was looking at a woman not far away from them.

" _I'm telling you man, find yourself another place to sleep tonight, this girl will be with me tonight and... oh, hey Mon!"_

" _As you can see, Joey is already kicking me out of my room tonight",_ sighed Chandler, and Monica patted his back.

" _Well, maybe you can keep me company, I'm a little bit worried..."_

Chandler and Joey frowned. _"Worried? Why?"_

" _It's really weird... I arrived in my bedroom, and there was a letter for me!"_

Joey opened his eyes wide : _"Really? There was your name on it?"_

Monica frowned and looked away. Was there her name on it? When she thought about it, no. Maybe it wasn't for her after all... But at the reception, they seemed to confirm it was indeed for her...

" _Now you say it... my name was never mentionned... But! I was freaking out, you know, and I phoned the..."_

Chandler interrupted her : _"What did the letter say? Did it threaten you? You should call the police..."_

" _No no, no threat... it was..."_ Monica was searching for her words. What could she say? _"i phoned the reception and they told me they wrote it, on behalf of a person also invited to the wedding... they seemed to know who but wouldn't tell me!"_

Monica was now getting angry and Chandler stroked her arm to calm her down.

" _Mon... What did the letter say?"_

Monica shook her head, sighing : _"That... that I was on his mind every second and he couldn't stop thinking about me."_ She decided not to talk about the part where the guy said whe was beautiful, she was a little bit embarrassed about it.

The guys looked at each others and Joey seemed concerned : _"In a good or a bad way? I mean... Are you on his mind constantly because he likes you or because he wants to kill..."_

" _Joe!"_ Chandler interrupted him, slapping his arm, annoyed his friend was making Monica more and more anxious.

" _What?"_ Joey asked, not getting it.

" _No, no... it was... more in a good way... I think? But, who knows? Maybe he wants to kill me, oh my God... Oh my God! I'm gonna die here, away from home! Oh my God!"_

Chandler tried to calm her down : _"Mon, don't worry... Why don't you ask Emily? If he's invited to the wedding, she might know him."_

Monica looked at her friend, who was speaking in such a soft voice it was reminding her the feelings she had for him. She wanted to get lost in his beautiful blue eyes, she wanted him to protect her from this creepy guy, she badly needed a hug from him right now... But instead she only nodded.

Chandler continued : _"I think she's with Ross where the dinner is supposed to take place, you should go and see her."_

Trying to get Chandler and her feelings for him out of her mind, Monica agreed : _"Yes, you're right. Thanks Chandler."_

Monica left the guys and hurried to the place Chandler had told her about. He was right, Emily and Ross were there, talking about the seats, and the disposition of the tables...

Monica couldn't wait until they were finished and came closer to Emily, who quickly noticed her : _"Hello Monica! Did you have a good trip? Are you confortable in your hotel room?"_

" _Hey Emily... Ummm... Actually, I came to talk to you about that... See... I had a letter on my bed in my hotel room and..."_

" _WHAT?!"_ Ross yelled, concerned about the safety of his little sister.

" _Let me finish, Ross... Anyway, the letter was written as if the guy had a thing for me... I asked the reception and they said it was a guest at your wedding, so... Any idea? So I won't freaking out tonight when I'll try to sleep..."_

Emily chuckled : _"Oh, Gary..."_

Monica and Ross were confused. _"Who's Gary?"_

" _One of my cousin. I showed him pictures of Ross and you were in some of them. He was very interested and said you were totally his type. I guess he did that to welcome you in England."_

" _Well, he could have signed the letter!"_

" _Maybe... but as you don't know any Gary, it wouldn't have helped you much, right?"_

" _Right... Still, it's weird to write such things to someone you don't even know!"_

" _It's so Gary! He's a romantic. Give him a chance."_

Monica shrugged her shoulders, unimpressed by Gary's methods.

" _You're sure he not dangerous?"_ Ross asked Emily, still worried.

" _Yes, totally sure. It's the kind of things he does. I'll introduce you to him tomorrow, you'll see."_

" _Okay then... If you say he's not going to kill me in my sleep, I'm going back to the hotel..."_

On her way back to the hotel, Monica couldn't help but doubting Gary was really the man behind the letter. The letter had said : _"beautiful_ _ **as always**_ _"._ Gary doesn't even know her, and he saw her in, what, four or five pictures? Why would he say "as always"?...

Entering the hotel, she was disappointed to see Chandler and Joey had left the bar, she would have liked to share her conversation with Emily with them.

She went back in her room, the letter was still on her bed. She re-read it twice, trying to decide if she should be worried or not. Was if she called Phoebe? Was time was it? Already 8 PM. She decided to take a shower first.

When she came out of the bathroom, thirty minutes later, she brutally stopped. There was something new on her bed. She looked around her and asked : _"Are you here? Come on, stop being shy!"_

She looked behind the drapes, under the bed and felt silly, because the room was small and noone could hide anywhere.

Still, her heart was beating fast and loud and she approached the bed as if there was a bomb on it. Except it was a bunch of flowers.

Gary was sending her flowers? Something wasn't right... She sat on her bed and took the flowers. She noticed there was a card and opened it.

" _Monica,_

 _I'm sorry if I scared you, it was never my intention. Don't be afraid, I'll never hurt you._

 _Wanna know who I am?_

 _Come to the bridge near the hotel at 10 PM tonight."_

Monica shivered. She had closed her door, right? She checked. Yes, it was closed. The guy had a key? Or... was it again someone from the hotel who came into her room? Yes, probably... But who was this guy? Monica was now certain he wasn't Gary, because in the letter it was written "wanna", so the guy had to be American. And the guy knows he had scared her. How the hell does he know?!

In almost an hour, she was supposed to meet this guy. Well, she didn't had to, she could always refuse and stay in her room. But she was curious. On the other hand, meeting the guy outside by night... Monica was anxious and started biting her nails.

She could still ask to one of the guys to go with her... She went to knock on the door of their room. Joey half-opened the door and seemed annoyed : _"What, Mon?"_

" _Ummmm... sorry to disturb you... you're busy?"_

" _Duh, yeah! I'm with this chick, remember?!"_

" _Oh yeah, sorry Joe! Where is Chandler?"_

" _Don't know. He told me he met a girl, he's probably with her."_

And Joey shut the door.


	13. Chapter 13 : Surprise! (part 2)

**Sorry for the slight delay, here is the next part! I think there are three or four chapters left after this one, I'm still working on it :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 13 : Surprise ! (part 2)**

Monica was left depressed in the hallway. Chandler was on a date? He met a girl? Where did he meet her? Who is she? Chandler normally didn't get girls so easily. Was he trying to send Monica a signal? Maybe he took a decision during the trip, he doesn't want to be with her, he chose to move on...

Well, if Chandler didn't want to be in a relationship with her – then the TiMER was wrong, stupid device – maybe Monica too had to move on. She was going to see this mysterious man who had sent her the letter and flowers. And what if he was a serial killer? It's not as if someone was interested in her anymore...

Monica wanted to cry, she had really thought something had happened on the balcony the other night. There definitely was a connection between them. And Chandler seemed looking at her more lovingly these days... or maybe she was just dreaming. But now he was out with some random girl he had just met.

Monica looked down at her watch : it was now almost 9.30. She decided to head for the bridge early, curious to meet her secret admirer.

The night had just fallen and it was quite cold outside. Even if she had a jacket, Monica shivered, and she wasn't sure if the reason was the weather... Walking towards the bridge, she had a knot in her stomach as well. She wondered if the guy was already there, or how she will recognize him. She was also making plans to run away, in case the guy was crazy.

Approaching the bridge, she noticed a figure who seemed to gaze at the water under the bridge. Coming closer, the person seemed familiar. The guy clearly hadn't seen her arrive, he was lost in his thoughts.

Monica slowed down and almost stopped when she definitely recognized the man. Her heartbeat fastened and her legs were shaking.

Chandler.

Why was he here? Maybe his date went wrong?

" _Hey"_ , she said almost in a whisper.

Chandler lifted up her head and seemed surprised to see her : _"H-h-hey..."_ , he stammered.

" _So... how was your date?"_ It hurt her to ask that question, but Monica had to know. Why had he gone on a date without first talking to her and rejecting her for good? It was the least thing he could do...

Chandler was confused : _"My date?"_

" _Yes, I was looking for you, so I went to your room, and Joey told me you had a date."_ Monica didn't mean to, but she noticed her tone was a little bit aggressive.

" _Oh, that date! It hasn't started yet."_

Taken by a strong feeling of disappointment, Monica didn't say anything. Chandler carried on : _"Why were you looking for me?"_

 _Never mind_ , she thought. _You're taken now, you're not the one I should rush to when I'm in trouble..._

But Monica chose another answer : _"I... I received another letter... It said to be on this bridge at 10 PM this night. I freaked out, I wanted you to come with me, in case the guy was a murderer or something like that..."_

Chandler smiled and said in a low voice : _"Yet, you came."_

" _Well... everyone has a date! Why not me?"_ Monica said, bitterness in her voice.

Regretting her answer, she bit her lips and added : _"Anyway... he's not here yet. Maybe he changed his mind. Or maybe everything is just a joke."_

" _Or maybe he's early."_

Monica looked at Chandler, perplexed : _"What? I'm early!"_

" _And maybe he came even earlier than you. Maybe he's already on this bridge."_

Monica turned her head everywhere but didn't see anyone. She looked at her friend as if he was crazy : _"Chandler! There isn't anyone on this bridge!"_

Chandler chewed his lower lips. He was nervous, the time had come. He couldn't believe Monica still hadn't figured it out yet.

" _Anyone but me."_

Monica frowned, unsure of what Chandler had meant.

" _What?"_

Chandler sighed and rolled his eyes, damn she didn't want to understand tonight!

" _I'm on this bridge, Mon. Waiting for you. You are my date... if you want to."_

Monica couldn't believe what he had just said. Chandler was her mysterious guy? Her secret admirer? How? Why? What did it mean?

" _I don't... I just... Why?"_

" _I wanted to make you a nice surprise. You were supposed to come here at 10 PM and find me right there"_ – he pointed to the opposite side of the bridge – _"in the middle, waiting for you. But you kinda ruined it with your questions and your investigations"_ , he added with an impish smile.

Monica's heart melted at his words – and even more when he smiled at the end – and she put her face in her hands, trying to process everything. Chandler came closer : _"I swear if I had known it was going to scare you, I wouldn't have done that. I thought you'd be excited to have a secret admirer. I'm sorry."_

Monica suddenly understood the last card she received. Of course the guy knew he had scared her, since she had told him in person... without knowing it was him!

" _Mon?"_ Chandler was now gently stroking her left arm with is thumb, waiting for a reaction.

Her face still in her hands, Monica buried her head in Chandler's chest, wanting to cry and laugh at the same time. Chandler hugged her tight and asked, a little bit worried : _"Mon? Are you mad?"_

" _Yes! No... I'm... I don't..."_

She couldn't finish her sentences, her mind was going crazy. So Chandler wanted her after all? She slowly pulled away from him, but his arms were still around her waist and she was fiddling with his sweater underneath his unzipped jacket.

" _I think you owe me an explanation, mister..."_

Chandler chuckled and kissed her forehead before agreeing : _"You're right. I simply think I got tired of asking myself all those same questions all over again and I started listening to my heart. The other night on the balcony made me realize how everything is easy when I'm with you, and all the complications were only in my head, not between us."_

Monica was listening carefully to him and when he had finally stopped talking, she couldn't help but notice he hadn't mentioned any feelings. She was a little bit disappointed, even though she remembered her friend wasn't comfortable with this particular subject.

Still fiddling with his sweater, and still not looking at him in the eyes, Monica asked : _"Why did you do this? The letter? Not the surprise thing, but... Why did you do this this way?"_

" _You know me... I have some difficulties expressing how I feel... It was easier for me to write it down – even though_ _ **I**_ _didn't write it down myself but... I didn't know how to say it."_

Monica remembered the letter. _"Can't stop thinking about you. You're on my mind every second."_

" _Is it true?"_

" _What?"_

" _What was written in the letter."_

Chandler exhaled and pressed his forehead against Monica's.

" _Of course. It's been true for a while. I won't lie, it started because if the TiMER. But... It has evolved into something... deeper. I have feelings for you way deeper than just friendship."_

Finally. Finally the words Monica was waiting for. She was relieved and closed her eyes.

" _Wanna know how much deeper?"_ Chandler whispered in a husky voice.

" _Huh?"_

For the first time since Monica had discovered Chandler was her mysterious secret admirer, she looked him in the eyes. There, she saw all the love he had for her and she felt her heartbeat increasing.

" _My feelings. Wanna know how much deeper than friendship they are?"_

What the hell was he saying now? She shrugged her shoulders, not quite sure of what she was agreeing to : _"Yeah... I guess..."_

She saw Chandler's head leaning towards hers and wet her lips in anticipation. When she felt his soft lips gently brushing hers, she sighed with contentment and then pressed her lips harder against his. The slow kiss turned to a passionnate one, and when Monica felt Chandler's tongue in her mouth, her knees became suddenly weak – thankfully Chandler was holding her tight!

They then both slowed down the kiss and Chandler exclaimed : _"Hope you're more enthusiastic now!"_

Against his lips, Monica laughed and gave him a quick peck, which again turned into a deepener kiss.


	14. Chapter 14: The First Night

**Chapter 14 : The First Night**

After a few more kisses on the bridge, alone, Chandler caressed Monica's cheeks with the back of his hands as they were looking deeply in each other's eyes and asked : _"What do you wanna do now?"_

Monica's eyes lighted up and she smiled : _"Oh, I could kiss you all night..."_ Chandler chuckled and leaned on for another kiss but Monica continued, putting a finger on Chandler's lips : _"But! Don't forget we have a big day tomorrow... My brother won't be happy if I'm grumpy for his wedding preparations because I'm tired... because I didn't get enough sleep, too busy kissing his best friend!"_

Chandler winced, hearing Monica mentionning her brother. Shoot. He forgot about him. How would he react? Monica was right, they'd better be good tonight... but it was gonna be hard, she was so beautiful even though she hadn't make any effort to look good for tonight. She was at her best: beautiful just being herself.

Chandler nodded and offered his arm: _"You're right. Can I take you back to your hotel room?"_

Monica took his arm and kissed him tenderly before answering: _"Of course."_ She leaned her head on his shoulder as they were walking back to the hotel.

When they entered the hall, a receptionist who was there smiled seeing the cute couple and couldn't help but saying happily to Chandler: _"Hey, it worked!"_

Monica lifted her head up to look curiously at Chandler and she saw him blush as he nodded to the receptionist.

They started climbing the stairs and Monica asked him quietly: _"What was that?"_

Chandler seemed uneasy: _"Uhm, see... I would have prefered to do all this alone... this plan... but I couldn't. The staff here really helped me. They wrote the cards, they put everything in your room, and they even covered for me when you called them on the phone... So... They know me quite well and they know how I wanted to surprise you and... well... I guess they're happy it worked. It's also their success after all."_

Monica smiled and shook her head: _"I can't believe you did all this... And when I think I was afraid this mysterious guy was a freak, a murderer!"_

Chandler bit his lips and admitted: _"Yeah I really thought you wouldn't come tonight... Hey, there is your room already!"_

Monica was disappointed to find herself in front of her door, this was the end of their night already? How could she keep him close to her after what she said earlier about taking it slow because of her brother's wedding (why had she said such a stupid thing anyway?)? She had an idea...

" _But... Chandler... Where are you gonna sleep? Joey clearly doesn't want to share your room!"_

Chandler really seemed to have forgotten about that issue, as his shoulders sagged and he looked up, closing his eyes: _"Shoot!"_

Monica fiddled with his jacket's zipper, saying: _"You know... Two people can totally fit in my bed..."_

Chandler looked down at Monica, who was still busy playing with his jacket's zipper: _"What about the whole I-don't-want-to-be-grumpy-tired-at-my-brother's-wedding-preparations?"_

" _If you think about it, I can't be grumpy as I will have spent the night with you!"_ She looked up at him and as their eyes locked, she couldn't think of anything else but wanting to kiss him again.

Chandler's heartbeat fastened, looking into her beautiful eyes, full of love and lust. Everything was still very new, he had a hard time believing it was real. Was he going to spend the night with Monica, in her bed?

His mouth suddenly dry, he whispered: _"If you say so..."_ before leaning on and capturing Monica's lips, who were already on their way to his mouth.

Opening her door with one hand, Monica dragged Chandler in her room with her other hand firmly gripping his jacket, while they were still kissing hard, exploring each other's mouth.0

They walked in the room, not breaking the kiss and Monica pushed lightly Chandler so he would be sat on the bed, but Chandler yelled against her lips: _"Ouch! That hurts!"_

" _Oh my God, your flowers! I'm sorry! You've probably sat on a thorn!"_

" _I knew I shouldn't have given you roses!"_

Monica laughed as Chandler got up, rubbing his sore butt. Monica went in the bathroom and came back with a glass of water.

" _Now that I know you're the one who gave me these flowers, I can put them in the water, I don't want them to die. Oh shoot... you've crushed two of them very badly, I'm gonna have to throw them away..."_

Watching her examining attentively the roses, Chandler said sarcastically: _"Oh yeah, sure, care more about these poor flowers than my butt!"_

Monica bit her lips, trying not to smile too widely. _"Did you buy them yourself? Or was it a purchase from your little helpers here at the hotel?"_

" _I bought them."_

These words warmed her heart, happy he made that effort for her.

" _Now I wish I hadn't, though"_ , he pouted, which made Monica chuckle.

She came back in front of him and put her hands on his bottom, stroking it gently: _"Now, let's take care of your butt..."_

Chandler smiled shyly and felt his cheeks getting red, a little bit embarrassed to be touched this way by Monica. His not-really-just-friend-anymore-but-not-really-already-girlfriend-either Monica. He grabbed her hands and kept them in his own hands, now putting them between their bodys, playing with her fingers.

" _I'm gonna sound... corny maybe... but... what about just cuddling tonight?"_

Monica smiled: _"Cuddling and kissing then?"_

Chandler agreed with a boyish smile: _"Cuddling and kissing sounds good."_

Monica stood on tiptoe to reach Chandler's lips and kissed him gently and slowly before saying : _"Since we have to be good tonight, then I'm going to grab my PJ's... what are you going to wear?"_

" _Well, my PJ's are in my room... where I can't go, for obvious reasons"_ , replied Chandler, rolling his eyes. That made Monica chuckle and she gave him a quick kiss. _"I have a t-shirt underneath, will you be okay if I keep it or will the cleanliness freak Monica be mad because I wore it all day?"_

" _Cleanliness freak Monica won't care but girlfriend Monica would love it if you'd take it away..."_ Monica answered in a suggestive voice, running her fingers up on his chest, which made Chandler gulp. She called herself his "girlfriend", had he heard right?

After another kiss, Monica went to the bathroom to change whereas Chandler was left dumbstruck by everything that happened. It was so easy! They were already totally comfortable with each other's, and Monica was constantly kissing him and touching him.

 _Monica can't take her hands off me. That's right!_

Alone in the room, Chandler blinked and shook his head. It was incredible.

Monica's voice brought him back to reality : _"I'm going to come out, are you presentable?"_

Chandler panicked and looked everywhere around him : _"Oh... Uhm... No! No! Wait!"_

He didn't want to undress in front of her for the first time casually. He wanted it to be special, but he hadn't think this through, earlier he hadn't imagine he was going to spend the night in her bed.

He undressed quickly, keeping only his boxers, and climbed under the blankets. _"Ready!"_

Monica came out of the bathroom and had a satisfied smile, seeing Chandler was shirtless. _"So, I see you listened to girlfriend-Monica"_ , she said, joining him in the bed.

Again, Chandler's heart skipped a beat, hearing Monica's words. He tried to hide his nervosity: _"Well... I don't want to disappoint her."_

Monica slowly shook her head, a small smile on her lips, and whispered : _"You won't"._

She then stroke his right cheek with her left hand and came closer to him for a long and gentle kiss. After that she contently put her head on Chandler's bare chest and closed her eyes, ready to sleep.

Chandler, for his part, couldn't close his eyes. He stared at the ceiling, reliving the evening. He still couldn't believe how smoothly everything went tonight. He was now in bed, holding Monica in his arms. Monica! And the weirdest part was... it wasn't feel weird at all. It felt normal.

Just to be sure it was real, Chandler gave Monica a squeeze and kissed her hair. He couldn't see her smile, but he felt her squeezing him back in response.


	15. Chapter 15: Good To Have You By My Side

**I'm not sure if there is one or two chapters left after this one... But maybe you'll have to be patient to read it as it's still not finished yet and I have a big week of work ahead, so I'm not sure I'll update next week or later... I hope you're still enjoying this story even though it comes to an end :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 15 : Good To Have You By My Side**

" _Hey you."_

Chandler blinked a few times, wondering for a moment where he was and who was greeting him with this sweet voice.

 _Oh, yeah, right. London. Monica. Monica's room. In bed with Monica. In a relationship with Monica? For real?_

He slowly turned his head and the panick he had just felt vanished when he saw Monica looking at him with shiny eyes and a loving smile. She was already up and dressed and she leaned on him to give him a quick peck on the lips.

" _I let you sleep, you seemed to need to."_

Chandler couldn't answer, he was totally lost in Monica shiny eyes and bright smile. He gulped, realizing for the first time how madly in love with him she already was. Suddenly, the panick was back: he'd better not screw this up!

Monica saw something was wrong and her smiled faded away: _"What?"_

Seeing concern on Monica's face, Chandler sat up straight, scraped his throat and started talking fast: _"No-no-nothing! You're just..."_ he slowed down, exhaled and smiled before resuming: _"...breathtakingly beautiful."_

Monica blushed and shook her head: _"Stop it... OK mister, I'm leaving, I have to help Ross. Will you be okay?"_

" _Yeah, yeah, don't worry, we're going sightseeing with Joey... if he doesn't ditch me to spend the day in bed with the same girl he was with last night."_

Monica tilted her head and traced a way down on Chandler's chest with a finger: _"Wouldn't you ditch him to spend the day in bed with the same girl you were with last night?"_

Was she aware of what her simple gesture and her words did to him? Chandler couldn't believe Monica – her friend for so long Monica – was talking to him like that, with this suggestive tone, touching him constantly.

" _Chandler?"_

Oh right, he had to speak, otherwise Monica was quickly becoming concerned. But it's barely a whisper that came out of his dry mouth: _"I would totally ditch him."_

Monica's eyes landed on his lips as she murmured: _"Good answer..."_ She then leaned on Chandler, giving him a long and soft kiss, and left the room just after that.

Amazed by Monica's attitude, touches and kiss, Chandler took his head in his hands and screamed: _"Oh my God!"_

The door reopened and Monica's head popped up: _"You said something?"_

Chandler's eyes widened: _"Um... yeah, I-I-I said: Wait Mon! Because... um... when will I see you again?"_

Monica smiled: _"At the rehearsal dinner I guess? Bye!"_

She closed the door again and Chandler crashed on the bed. Everything was unbelievable. Sure, he had some time to get used to the fact that Monica had feelings for him and to get used to his own new feelings, but living it for real was different. He couldn't believe he was so lucky.

After taking a shower and getting dressed up, he waited for Joey in front of the hotel. When his friend arrived, Chandler first spent ten minutes listening to him, speaking about his great night and amazing sex.

Usually, he was a bit jealous and hurt, hearing Joey's exciting sex-life, but not today. Today, for the first time, Chandler felt better than Joey. Sure, he didn't had sex, but he had spent a magical evening and night, with a wonderful woman.

Joey finally asked: _"So, hey, what about you? Your date?"_

Chandler has rehearsed his answer many times in his head and tried to sound casual: _"Best night I had in years."_

" _Cool, man! Told you, English women are crazy about us, Americans!"_

Chandler smiled, he wasn't going to say his woman wasn't English...

The two friends then spent the day exploring the city and they had so much to do that Chandler almost forgot his new status of Monica's new boyfriend, until they entered a gift shop. After buying a hat, now Joey wanted kindly to bring Phoebe and Rachel souvenirs from their trip. While Joey was busy looking at mugs, cards and key rings, Chandler's eyes wandered at the jewelry section. There wasn't anything expensive – it was only a gift shop for tourists – but he saw a nice necklace with a pendant in the shape of heart. The heart was in tow parts: one with the British flag and the other one with the American flag.

Was it too soon to offer something to Monica with no reason? He didn't care, it didn't even cross his mind, he just wanted to buy her something to cheer her up because he suspected this evening and tomorrow wouldn't be easy for her, with her mother probably belittling her.

" _Why are you buying that necklace?"_

Joey was behind him and sounded confused.

" _Just... buying my date something to remember me."_

Joey seemed surprised: _"Oh... hey! I don't even remember the name of MY date!"_ and he laughed.

 **###**

It was now 7 PM and everyone was at the rehearsal dinner. Joey and Chandler were talking when Monica and her parents entered the room. Chandler saw Monica scanning the room and when her eyes found him, he could see how relieved she was to see he was there, and Monica's face immediately lit up, a beautiful smile on her lips. Chandler smiled back to her and both had a hard time stop looking in each others eyes.

Chandler saw Monica abruptly breaking their eye contact, troubled by something her mother had just said to her. He could feel she was dejected and his good mood disappeared.

 _Funny how when someone you love is feeling down, you too are depressed..._ he tought.

Soon after that, they all came to sit down, and Chandler took advantage of the agitation around the tables to slip behind Monica and asked her: _"You okay?"_

She gave him a sad smile in answer: _"Yeah, just... you know... my mother..."_

They heard Ross over all the noise: _"Okay okay everyone, sit down please!"_

Chandler squeezed Monica's arm in a sign of compassion and only brushed her temple with his lips before quickly rejoigning his seat.

It was only a small and brief gesture, but it warmed Monica's heart and she felt lighter: no matter what her mother could think, Monica knew she had at least one person in her life that supported her and cared deeply for her.

During the dinner, Chandler and Monica exchanged glances and smiles that nobody noticed. Thankfully Monica's mother wasn't at the same table, so Monica could peacefully daydreaming about Chandler, the last night, and what could happen next.

Then Chandler made his little speech and Monica had to repress her chuckles, as nobody was laughing, not even smiling, at his jokes. Monica's heart was aching a little bit for him, and when he sat down discouraged, she flashed him with a knowing smile, letting him know she sympathized with him. He gave her a smirk in return, and then focused on Joey.

 **###**

Later that night, Chandler was sitting alone on a chair, covering his face, when he heard a soft "hey" that made him raise his head. He offered Monica a sad smile and she sat down, patting his knee.

" _It wasn't that bad! I thought it was funny!"_

" _Didn't seem so..."_ mumbled Chandler.

" _I couldn't laugh, I didn't want everyone to look at me and think I was stupid..."_

" _I saw you were talking with your mother earlier..."_

" _She's driving me crazy. Always these hints here and there, implying I'll never get married, I'll never keep a man..."_

Monica sighed and looked down. Chandler felt bad for her, it was rare to see strong Monica be so vulnerable, so down.

" _You know she's wrong though, right?"_

" _Huh?"_

" _I don't know why she is giving you such a hard time, I don't get it. She's your mother, she should be supportive!"_ There was anger in Chandler's voice and Monica tought it was cute he was pissed of with her mother because of her attitude. Then Chandler's voice softened: _"But... she couldn't be more wrong, especially tonight."_

Monica was looking in his blue eyes, she was feeling better only being with him, listening to his voice, looking at him.

" _You know you've got me."_

Hearing these words, Monica gulped and had to restrain herself to kiss him in front of everyone.

They were both gazing intensely in each other's eyes but were interrupted by Joey who slapped Chandler on one shoulder.

" _Hey man, don't wait for me tonight, I'm sleeping in Felicity's room!"_

" _Cheating on me again?_ _ **And**_ _with a different woman than yesterday?"_ Chandler replied sarcastically.

" _She is soooooo hot! Maybe you should find yourself the other bridesmaid for to..."_ Joey stopped and realized what he was about to say. _"Oh, sorry Mon, totally forgot it was you!"_

Joey quickly left and Chandler turned his head back to Monica, who was now smiling.

" _What?"_ asked Chandler.

" _Well, won't you listen to your friend's advice?"_

" _You mean the one where he tells me to sleep with the other bridesmaid?"_

" _Yep, that one."_

" _Only if the other bridesmaid agrees..."_

" _She doesn't."_

" _Oh..."_ Chandler frowned, puzzled and disappointed. How could he have misunderstood that? Wasn't she flirting?

Monica bit her lips, seeing confusion on Chandler's face. He was too cute.

" _She obliges you to."_

A smile formed on Chandler's lips, he was now relieved. He tilted his head and whispered in Monica's ears: _"Then I'll be waiting for you..."_

He let his lips linger on her cheek for a firm kiss, got up and left.


	16. Chapter 16: The Talk

**Sorry for the wait! Here is the 16th chapter, and the next one after that will be the last. I hope you'll like it, even though it involves a lot of talking, but I think it was necessary for them to discuss everything :)**

 **Chapter 16 : The Talk**

Monica waited five or ten minutes and got up from her chair, heading for Chandler's room. She thought she was looking quite okay tonight, she was wearing a nice dress and she had spent time on her make-up.

She knocked lightly on the door and waited. One, two, three seconds. Five seconds. Monica was wondering if she should knock again when the door opened. Monica could tell Chandler was nervous because his smile was less confident, almost shy, and she could read doubt in his eyes.

She smiled at him, hoping he could see the desire in her eyes. He probably did, because as soon as the door was closed, he pressed his lips against hers. Monica answered by putting her arms around his neck, and they passionalty kissed until Chandler pulled away, panting.

He pressed his forehead on Monica's while he was catching his breath and she was softly stroking his cheeks.

" _I can't believe it's happening..."_ Monica whispered, thinking about the last few months, her fears and doubts.

" _I know..."_ Chandler answered on the same tone, not opening his eyes.

" _And can you believe it's happening thanks to... Janice?!"_ Monica added, laughing.

Chandler opened his eyes and moved back his head, taken aback hearing his ex-girlfriend name in a situation like this one.

" _Uh?"_

" _Well, yeah... If I hadn't met her and if she hadn't told me about your TiMER..."_

Chandler's lips curved into a smile : _"Should we send her a thank you card?"_

Monica chuckled and placed a quick peck on Chandler's lips, then asked him, fidgeting with his tie: _"Do you think... do you think without the TiMER – and Janice, obviously... – we'd still be with each other?"_

Chandler tensed up a little bit, and Monica ran her hands up and down his arms to calm him down.

Feeling Chandler was getting more and more nervous, Monica continued in a soft voice: _"I think we should talk about it. You know... It's not a bad thing. It helped us."_

Chandler sighed and went to sit on his bed, looking at the floor.

" _I'm so confused about that..."_

Monica didn't move from where she was standing: _"Confused?"_

Chandler shrugged: _"I guess... I guess I still have some trouble to realize everything. I never thought you could be... you know..."_

Monica slowly went to sit down next to him.

" _Neither did I. I mean... You know, when I was wondering who my soulmate could be, and I was thinking of every guy I knew, no one convinced me. Even Richard! At first, I admit it, I kinda hoped it was him... but then I realized it wasn't possible and I was okay with that. I couldn't picture myself with any of the guys I already knew and I was very confused."_

Chandler kept looking at the floor, listening carefully. He was glad she decided to talk first.

" _But you know what? That's because I never thought it could be you. I don't know why you – and Joey – never crossed my mind. Maybe because we're so close I didn't even see you. You know, weirdly, when it's right in front of you, sometime you have trouble seeing it."_

Monica paused, waiting for a reaction, but Chandler remained quiet, so she resumed: _"And when Janice told me about your TiMER... somewhere in my mind I knew immediately you were my soulmate. Even before I got the confirmation."_

Chandler finally lifted up his head, curious and unsure at the same time: _"Yeah?"_

Monica smiled, happy to look into his beautiful blue eyes: _"Yes! It was a strange feeling. You know, like: obviously it's Chandler! When I think about it, now... I didn't panick. At all. It's hard to explain. All I can tell you is how happy I was to find out it was you."_

Monica's eyes were shining with love and Chandler gulped. He wasn't expecting such a beautiful declaration, up until a few minutes ago he really thought Monica was disappointed or dubious when she found out, even though Rachel hadn't said so.

Chandler leant towards Monica for a gentle and light kiss, then Monica said: _"Your turn! For a long time, you didn't seem as enthusiastic as I was..."_

Chandler could hear hurt in her voice and he bit his lips, wincing, before saying softly : _"I never wanted to hurt you..."_

Monica shook her head: _"I know... I'm sorry... I just.. I wonder why suddenly you're putting so much heart in this relationship, whereas it seems that only a few days ago you were distant and avoiding me."_

Chandler nodded, understanding Monica's interrogations.

Monica continued in a barely audible voice: _"I guess I just hope that you're not doing that only to please me..."_

Chandler quickly turned his head towards Monica, shocked she could think that: _"WHAT? NO!"_

He then took her hands in his and sighed: _"It's... It's hard to explain."_

Seeing Monica's glare, he quickly added: _"But I'll try!"_

Stroking her hands, he started to explain slowly, pausing a lot because he sometimes couldn't find the right words.

" _I never pictured you to be the one the TiMER was pairing me with. Probably for the same reason you mentionned before. We're so close... I... I didn't think of you as an option. As you know, I knew you had a TiMER, but... Anyway... Then... then suddenly, out of nowhere, you announced me you had feelings for me. It was... it was... surreal. That's when I started wondering why..."_

" _Chandler, because you are..."_

Chandler raised one hand, showing Monica he wasn't finished yet and wanted to continue.

" _Why would Monica suddenly have feelings for me? And I realized... The TiMER. It was the only logical explanation."_

Monica couldn't help but yell: _"It's not!"_

" _Let me finish Mon, please."_

Monica sighed, frustrated. She badly wanted to tell him she'd probably have fallen in love with him even without the TiMER, because he's everything she was looking for, but she had to sit there and listen to him.

" _So I talked to Rachel and she confirmed it. This damned TiMER. You know Rachel and her romantic mind... I didn't take what she said about your feelings too seriously. To tell you the truth, I was protecting myself too. I didn't want to let myself feel all those things and then be heartbroken because for you it was only an obligation to be with me because of a stupid, stupid device."_

" _It wasn't, it isn't, Chandler!"_

Monica was losing control of her nerves, listening to him diminishing her own feelings.

" _Mon... Calm down, I'm not finished yet."_

" _Well, you better hurry otherwise I'll shut you up by kissing you so fiercely you'll know my feelings..."_

Chandler tried to repress a smile by pinching his lips together but failed, his smile could be seen in the brightness of his eyes.

" _I'm almost done... My feelings for you have been perfectly clear for a long time. If I'm being honest, you have always been special to me. I just... I never wanted to risk our friendship. And last year you laughed at the beach, so I kinda... burried everything."_

Monica closed briefly her eyes, whispering: _"I'm so sorry about that... I feel like a fool now..."_

" _Don't be. Don't. But! I want you to understand why this last few months I was so... suspicious."_

Monica nodded and Chandler resumed: _"So, yeah... It's always been there. So when I learned about the TiMER, I was more like: Shoot, why her? It's too complicated, too hard already..."_

Monica gave him a kiss on the cheek and Chandler finally finished speaking: _"So I wanted to be sure your feelings were genuine. And... that night... on the balcony... I saw you so... so sad, so depressed... And I knew I was the reason why. I guess that's what made me change my attitude. When I understood your feelings were real and I couldn't spend the rest of my life wondering: what if...?"_

Chandler turned his head to look into Monica's eyes and he could read trust and confidence. He could see she was sure of what they were doing and that made him more confident.

" _You know what, Chandler Bing?"_

Chandler swallowed, hearing Monica's serious tone: _"What?"_

Monica smiled and said in her softest voice: _"I love you."_

She kissed him slowly and gently, not letting him any time to answer to her declaration, just in was he wasn't ready.

But he was, and when Monica ended the kiss, Chandler whispered against her mouth: _"I love you, Monica."_

Their next kiss was more passionnate, deeper, and when they stopped to catch their breath, Chandler suggested: _"By the way, I haven't experienced one of your fierce kiss yet..."_

Monica chuckled and jumped on him, both bouncing a little bit on the bed: _"You'll get more than one, don't worry..."_

As Monica started to savagely kiss him, their tongue meeting half-way, Chandler suddenly remembered the little gift he wanted to offer to Monica. But he couldn't break the kiss, and certainly didn't want to. Monica was now starting to unbutton his shirt and he felt her hands on the skin of his chest.

Yeah, the gift would wait...


	17. Chapter 17 : Epilogue

**Sorry I was so long to post this one, but I had an awful amount of work these last few weeks. Anyway, here's the final chapter :)**

 **Chapter 17 : Epilogue**

On the morning of Ross's wedding, Monica woke up before Chandler. For a second, she wondered where she was, but feeling the soft skin of the man next to her, she smiled. London. In bed with Chandler. They had an amazing night, mixing passion, tenderness, and laughter.

Monica looked for her watch and cringed when she saw what time it was. She had to get up and get prepared for her brother's big day. She slowly got up, being careful not waking Chandler up, and went to take a shower, taking the risk of Joey seeing her here. She wanted to stay, just to have another moment alone with Chandler before what was probably going to be a hectic day.

When she got out of the bathroom, Chandler was still sleeping and thankfully Joey wasn't back yet. She smiled, watching him sleep, and she sat down next to him. She started to kiss him slowly on his temple, then went down to his cheek and finished on his neck. That's when Chandler finally started to move and mumbled: _"You're the best alarm clock ever..."_

Monica giggled and patted his shoulder: _"Get up and get ready, I want to spend a few more minutes with you before everyone starts looking for us."_

After a quick shower, Chandler reappeared in a bathrobe and Monica said: _"That's what you call being ready?"_

" _My clothes were all here, I had nothing else to wear in the bathroom."_

" _So... ?"_

" _So, uhm... I was going to go out of the bathroom... naked."_

Monica chuckled, he was too cute: _"You do know I saw you naked last night, right?"_

A boyish smile formed on Chandler's lips as Monica was moving closer to him. She gave him a soft kiss and heard Chandler whisper against her mouth: _"I have something for you..."_

Thinking of something saucy, Monica smiled and answered in a suggestive tone: _"Oh yeah?"_

Chandler backed off, shaking his head: _"No, not that kind of thing!"_

Monica then saw him searching in his bag, and as it seemed longer than planned, she sat down on the bed, intrigued. What could Chandler have for her? She had absolutely no idea but Chandler's victorious voice interrupted her thoughts.

" _Ha! There! Found it!"_

Monica raised her head to look at him, he had a shy smile and seemed embarrassed.

" _It's... ah... nothing, really. I feel a bit stupid now... It's just... Yesterday we went to a gift shop with Joey and... I was thinking about you and I wanted to buy you something."_

Monica blushed, he was so kind. Chandler sat down on the bed next to her and resumed: _"I didn't find anything that could be special enough for you but I bought you a little something, you know, to remember us and London..."_

Not looking directly in her eyes, Chandler gave Monica a little fabric bag.

" _I'm sorry they didn't have a box..."_

Monica opened the bag and shook it to make what was inside fall on her other hand. The necklace appeared and Monica smiled: sure you could say it was only a knick-knack but it was Chandler's first gift to her as a boyfriend, and the flags were nice and appropriate to their situation.

Chandler was looking at her expectandly, nervous. Monica raised her head to look him in the eyes, a big smile on her face: _"Thanks Chandler, I love it."_

Chandler winced: _"Really? You can be honest with me, Mon, you know..."_

Still smiling, Monica shook her head, he was so insecure, she knew she's have to reassure him often, and she was more than okay with this role. She tilted her head to kiss him tenderly on the lips.

" _Really"_ , she softly said after their kiss.

Chandler smiled shyly, then Monica handed him the necklace and turned around, putting her hair up, so Chandler could attach the necklace.

Seeing the back of her neck, Chandler gulped, he badly wanted to stroke it, kiss it, but he knew now wasn't the time. He put the necklace and couldn't help but placing a gentle kiss on her neck after doing so.

Feeling the contact of his lips, Monica's heart skipped a beat and for a second she thought of surrender in his embrace, but she remembered she probably was already late to meet her brother. She turned her head to capture Chandler's lips one more time, then got up and left the room. Their next kiss had to wait...

 **#####**

Three weeks had passed since the wedding and Chandler and Monica had to be careful everytime they wanted to spend some time alone. So far they have succeeded in being discreet and nobody could suspect something was going on between them.

But things were about to change...

" _Joey! You were with Monica in London longer than me. Please help me to find out who got her this necklace she's wearing these days!"_

In her kitchen, Rachel was whining, desperate to find out who was Monica's secret lover. Monica was blushing and getting nervous everytime Rachel brought up the topic, but Rachel still hadn't a clue on who this guy might be. Sure, she was thinking of Chandler, but Monica hadn't mentionned him or the TiMER in a very long time. Maybe they both had given up? It would be a shame though...

Eating a sandwich at the table, Joey frowned: _"She's wearing a necklace?"_

" _Yes! She told me it's from her 'boyfriend from London', but I was only there for the wedding and I missed it!"_

Joey was surprised: _"A boyfriend from London? Monica? There was this creepy guy, but she told us she hasn't heard of him anymore..."_

" _What creepy guy? Oh God I've missed all the good stuff!"_

" _A man had left her a letter in her hotel room, saying nice things apparently... can't remember exactly. What about the necklace?"_

" _It's a cheap thing but oddly she seems to be very attached to it. I would have thrown it away, seriously... It has a pendant with a heart, half British half American flag."_

Joey frowned, this was familiar to his mind but he couldn't replace it. He snapped his fingers. _"Yeah, yeah... it definitely reminds me of something... where did I see this thing?..."_

He closed his eyes to remember and suddenly wide-opened them, realizing where he saw it, and gasped: _"OH MY GOD!"_

Rachel pratically screamed: _"What, what?"_

" _You're sure? A heart? Half British half American flag?"_

" _Yes! Tell me! You know who is this guy?"_

Deep down, Rachel wished it was Chandler, Monica was so smitten with him some time before going to London, and she knew Chandler would be perfect for her best friend.

Joey shook his head in disbelief: _"It... can't... be... him..."_

" _JOEEEYYYYY! COME ON! Spill the beans!"_

Rachel was now making angry gestures with her arms and Joey tried to calm her down.

" _Okay okay, but don't freak out, okay?"_

" _Why would I freak out? Do I know him?"_

Now, Rachel was more and more suspecting Chandler and she started to exulte: after all, she too played a part.

Joey didn't want to reveal anything for now: _"What did Monica tell you about him?"_

Rachel laid her arms down on the table, she felt Joey knew something huge and she couldn't take it anymore: _"Joe... You obviously know something! Teeeeeell meeeeee!"_

But Joey was reluctant, he had to be sure he wasn't wrong, because what he understood was too big. Monica and... Chandler? Could it be him? He bought the same necklace! But, hey, this shop probably sold more than one necklace like this one...

What is he tells Rachel Chandler is Monica's secret lover and then it turns out it's not him? He'll look stupid, and he didn't want to be wrong on a hot topic.

" _First, tell me what you know!"_

Rachel sighed: _"Fine. But she's very secretive about this, I don't know a lot. Apparently he's an amazing guy, sweet and funny. I know she hooked up with him in London and he bought her this gift as a reminder of their romance."_

Joey was dubious. If Monica's "boyfriend" was from London, it couldn't be Chandler. He pulled a face: _"Then I'm probably wrong..."_

Rachel was adamant: _"I don't care. Your turn. Tell me what you know."_

" _Don't... make a big deal out of it okay? It's probably nothing. I know a guy who bought the exact same necklace."_

" _Ooooooohhhhhh! Who is he?"_

Joey fidgeted on his chair, uneasy: _"He hooked up with a girl in London and bought her this necklace."_

Rachel clapped her hands, excited: _"It's him, it's him! It totally fits with what she told me! How is he like?"_

" _Actually, you know him too..."_

" _I do? But I don't know anyone from London!"_

" _He's not really from London... Believe me, you know him really well."_

Rachel understood she was right since the beginning and yelled: _"OH MY GOD it finally happened for them! It's Chandler, right?"_

Joey nodded and asked, confused: _"What do you mean by 'finally'?"_

" _Aaaaaawwww, it doesn't matter for now, they are totally meant for each other!"_

Joey was a bit hurt to see that Rachel ended up knowing more than him: _"RACH! I told you what I knew, it's your turn to TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW!"_

That's when Monica entered the apartment, confused hearing all the yelling: _"What's going on here?"_

Rachel stopped for a second, wondering what she should do, but she was so excited by what she just found out that she couldn't hold it: _"MON! Why didn't you tell me? I helped you getting with him!"_

Monica looked at Joey, who shook his head in answer, then turned her eyes to Rachel again: _"What are you talking about?"_

" _Mon, Mon, Mon... We know."_

She chuckled nervously: _"What? I have no idea of what you're saying."_

Rachel came closer to her friend: _"I talked to Joey about your necklace. The one you're wearing now. The one you're wearing everyday since London."_

Without thinking, Monica reached for her necklace, as if she wanted to protect it and her relationship. It was so fun to sneak around, and the fact it was a secret hidden from their friends, it was taking off the pressure.

Rachel was now apparently calmer, but inside it was still boiling. _"And Joey knows someone who bought the same necklace to his girlfriend. Someone very close to us."_

Monica's hands started to shake but she couldn't answer. She didn't know what to say, but she hadn't the chance to even try because the door opened and a cheerful Chandler entered the room: _"Hello children!"_

His mood quickly turned serious when he felt the awkward silence: _"Wow, what's happening here? Is everyone okay?"_

Joey blew air out of his mouth, rolling his eyes, and Rachel stayed quiet, curious of the turn of the events. Chandler glanced at Monica, who looked like she had saw a ghost.

" _Mon? You're okay?"_

Instinctively Monica reached for Chandler's hand and took it into hers. Obviously, this gesture didn't go unoticed to Rachel and Joey's eyes.

Seeing concern for Monica on Chandler's face, seeing Monica holding tight on his hand, Rachel started to have a smirk on the corner of her lips. She was right. And they were cute, they sure fitted together. She broke the silence: _"Oh and look, this someone we were talking about is now in the room."_

Chandler looked at Rachel and frowned: _"What? You were talking about me?"_

Rachel answered lightly: _"Oh your name was never mentionned... But we were trying to find out who's Monica's boyfriend from London. Do you feel involved in this talk?"_

Chandler looked back at Monica and repeated, imitating Rachel's voice: _"Do I feel involved?"_

Monica giggled and burried her face in his shoulder.

Chandler breathed in and started slowly: _"Well, I don't know how you found out..."_

Rachel interrupted him: _"The necklace. We connected the dots."_

Chandler nodded: _"Ah! Yes... I was with Joey when I bought it, that's right."_

Joey spoke up: _"So... it's true, dude? It's you? You're with Monica?"_

A big smile spread across Chandler's face: _"Yeah... Monica and I... are in a relationship."_

Rachel joined her hands in front of her mouth: _"Oh my God! That's the weirdest AND the cutest sentence I've ever heard from you!"_

Monica finally opened his mouth again: _"We're so happy together."_

" _Aaawww, I can see that! Come here you two!"_

Rachel hugged Monica and Chandler, and Joey got up to join them.

Phoebe and Ross arrived together in the apartment a few seconds later, saw the four of them in an embrace, and Phoebe asked: _"Wow what are we celebrating?"_

Rachel was about to tell her, but she noticed Ross and stopped herself in time... but Joey was too happy for his friends and shouted: _"Monica and Chandler are together!"_

Ross had a nervous chuckle: _"What? That's... impossible. Right, Monica?"_

Monica had her arm around Chandler's waist: _"Joey's telling the truth. We've been together for almost a month. I know it's not a long time yet, but it's very serious."_

Seeing Ross was dubious, Rachel confirmed: _"Oh yeah, that's deep! Belieeeve me!"_

Joey pouted: _"How do YOU know so much?_ "

Monica came to her rescue: _"Let's just say she helped me a lot dealing with my feelings..."_

Ross wasn't happy at all: _"So you knew before everyone else?"_

Rachel beamed with pride: _"Yeah, and they're perfect for each other, Ross. Look at them! Just be happy for your sister and your best friend!"_

Ross admitted: " _It's going to be weird but... if you two are happy, that's the most important."_

Phoebe jumped up and down excitedly: _"Oh, and you HAVE to tell us how it happened!"_

Chandler smiled: _"It's a long story..."_


End file.
